Daddy's Boy
by twouble
Summary: What if Hagrid had handed Harry over to Sirius? AU, Harry being brought up by Sirius, with a little help from his friends.
1. Homing Harry

**A/N: Hmm, yes, rather AU, but something I wanted to write, so I wrote. What would have happened had Hagrid given Harry to Sirius?**

The door to a dark house in London was opened by an old house elf, who looked severely disgruntled. Three men pushed their way past the house elf, led by the youngest they hurried up the stairs and opened the door to a bedroom in which a young man sat on the bed, a sleeping toddler in his arms. He was crying, floods of tears pouring down his cheeks. The youngest of the visitors had fire in his eyes as he stormed into the bedroom.

"Give me Harry. Now."

"Remus….Lily, James…they're….we can't leave Harry."

"I won't let you kill him too!" Remus drew his wand, not wanting to curse the man whilst he had the child in his arms, he stepped towards him.

"K...k...kill Harry? Why would I kill Harry….he's, he's my godson! James' son! And he's so small… he's lost everything and he doesn't even know…" He began to sob again. Remus was unsure what to do, he had never seen his friend cry like this, he knew James was like a brother to him and he, just like Remus himself, had become very fond of Lily. His tears were genuine, they weren't tears of guilt, they were tears of sorrow. And they were for Lily and James, not Voldemort. He turned to look at the other men, standing in the doorway. The oldest spoke.

"Sirius. Hagrid was to bring Harry to me."

"No godson of mine's going to live with muggles. Especially not _those_ muggles. James wouldn't have stood for it. He hated them, and they hated him, Lily too! I've met them, they're vile." Tears rolled down his cheeks as he stared at the small boy, brushing his hair away from his face. A scar was visible on his forehead, shaped like a lightening bolt.

"They are his family. You are not."

"I'm practically his uncle! James was like a brother to me…" A fresh wave of tears over came him, but Remus couldn't suppress his anger.

"Then why did you betray him?!"

"Didn't. Not me…" He lay Harry in the centre of the bed and he slept on, oblivious to all that was going on around him, blissfully unaware that his parents had died, that he would never see their faces again.

"You were their secret keeper!"

"Not me, changed it, Peter…" Fury shot through Remus' face.

"PETER? They changed, without telling me?"

"I told them to… said it'd be too obvious it was me… I'd would have died before I betrayed them, but other people knew where they were, if I died… then… then they'd all be able to tell, and I didn't know who… who the spy was, If I'd died… if it was me…." He wiped his eyes furiously. "I wish it was me."

"Peter?" Remus repeated, it was barely more than a whisper, his face filled with disbelief.

"I didn't know what to do. Wanted to kill him, but….Harry…James would never forgive us…"

"Give Harry to me and go kill him." It was not normally in Remus' nature to hate, but James had been one of his first friends, he had accepted him, even when he had learned the truth he didn't turn his back on him. Nor did Lily. Nor did Sirius. Nor, he thought sadly, had Peter. Sirius looked as though he was very tempted to do just that, but Dumbledore stepped forward.

"You're no use to Harry in Azkaban, Sirius." He turned to the third man, who until now had remained silent. "The ministry can catch Pettigrew, I suppose?" He nodded and seconds later he had disappeared. "We had better get going, I need to take Harry to Little Whinging."

"No. He's staying with me."

"Sirius, do you think that wise? It is not unknown to Voldemort's followers that you were James' dearest friend, I think it would not be surprising if they came looking for you, for Harry."

"I wouldn't let them take him!"

"Nor would Lily and James have." Remus whispered. "And now they…." He said no more.

"This is the last place they'd look." He glanced at Remus. "How did you know I was here?"

"Because this is the last place anyone would look, so the first place you'd hide." He sat beside his friend on the bed and looked down at Harry. "Battle scarred already…."

"He can join your club." Sirius smiled, trying to make light of the situation, he would grieve, he knew, for some time, but it was in his nature to joke as much as he could, he suppose it came with having grown up in this miserable house. He turned to look at Dumbledore again. "Is he gone then, Voldemort?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not, I suspect the latter."

"Harry's going to grow up famous." Remus said, lifting the toddler into his arms, looking as though he couldn't bear to let go of the last connection to his best friends. The expression on Sirius' face was much the same as he took hold of Harry's fingers.

"Yes, he will. It is better he grows up with the muggles, fame can go to one's head if they come to expect it." Sirius glanced from Remus to Dumbledore.

"I want to bring him up, I can….live as a muggle, or something."

"I see you are not to be persuaded to part with him."

"Never. He's James' son." Remus turned his attentions from Harry to their old headmaster.

"Lily and James would want Sirius to raise him." Dumbledore seemed to take this as the final word and nodded.

"Perhaps you should bring him to the school for a while, he would be safe there, and I do believe, we need a new defence against the dark arts teacher." Despite the seriousness of the situation, and the anger and sorrow imbedded inside him, Remus burst out laughing.

"Sirius? He's broken more rules than the entire historical student body put together." Sirius had to laugh too, he knew James would also have found the idea incredibly laughable, whilst Lily would have thought Dumbledore mad for suggesting such a thing. Dumbledore himself chuckled, and shook his head.

"Oh no, Sirius has the ability, of course he does, but I was thinking you might like to take the job, Remus? We are no longer at war, your services won't be required elsewhere.

"Me? But… the parents would never let me teach their children."

"You won't be of any danger to them, the Shrieking Shack and Whomping Willow both still stand. Sirius can cover your lessons after the full moon, and there will be plenty hands to take care of Harry."

"I thought you wanted him to grow up away from fame? Every child in our world will know his name."

"Indeed, but one so young can not comprehend the nature of fame. He would be safe at Hogwarts until such a time as all Voldemort's followers have been rounded up, and then we will consider what next to do for the best."

Neither Sirius or Remus was sure about this arrangement, but neither had an opportunity to object as a small hand reached away from Remus and tugged on Dumbledore's exceedingly long beard. It appeared Harry Potter had made the decision for them.


	2. Returning To Hogwarts

**A/N:** **Thanks for reading & reviewing!**

**I know that it's October, but I'll let you use your own imaginations to decide why the DADA teacher needed to be replaced at such a random point in the year.**

Both Remus and Sirius bore the same expression as they entered the school. They felt like they had come back home, so much of their growing up had been done here it was almost as though as they were visiting a younger version of themselves. Sirius saw James the instant they entered the entrance hall. Eleven year old James, followed by his eleven year old self as they raced down the marble staircase, Remus in hot pursuit. Somehow his memory blocked out the fact that Peter had been close behind them, and when he remembered the four of them losing control of themselves, speed getting the better of them, and crashing headlong into a wall, they had become three.

As they followed Dumbledore through the corridors Sirius' schoolboy self seemed to follow them all the way. Twelve years old, setting dung bombs off on the third floor. Thirteen, fighting with Slytherins. James had nearly died that day, he'd been sent head first over the banister, and, he remembered thinking, it was a long way down. The three boys who had raced to James' aid, quickly grabbing him and, although unable to haul him over, had stopped him from falling until a group of sixth years had helped to pull him to safety, became two in Sirius' memory.

Fourteen year old Sirius stood in the darkened corridor with two brothers in arms, under the safety of James' invisibility cloak they navigated the familiar way to the kitchen, tripped, and tumbled headfirst down the last few steps. They had lain in a heap at the bottom and, after checking all limbs were still attached, had laughed so hard they'd woken up half the castle.

Fifteen year old Sirius pulled James out the way of what would have been a rather vicious bat bogey hex, sent flying at him by none other than his future wife, Lily Evans. Sixteen year old Sirius stood guard outside a broom cupboard whilst James tried to convince the same Lily Evans that she wanted to go out with him. Seventeen year old Sirius laughed along with Remus whilst James and Lily got caught snogging in very same broom cupboard.

He smiled at the memories and held Harry to him. He was wide awake and his eyes were filled with wonderment as he tried to take in all around him. He hadn't asked for Lily or James yet, but Sirius suspected he would, and very soon. At least he was with his godfather, who he knew, who he loved, not with muggles who would never want a boy like him, and would never understand how truly special he was. "You know what, Harry Potter? I'm starting to think that every thing your dad and I did at this school caused lots of commotion."

"That's because it did, Padfoot." Remus smiled from behind, there was a nostalgic look in his eyes and Sirius was certain he had been taking the same trip down memory lane. He barely noticed they had arrived in Dumbledore's office before he was sat down and his old headmaster was sat across from him. Harry was growing restless and was reaching out for various objects on the desk. Sirius knew he should stop him but didn't have the heart to. Dumbledore seemed to read his mind.

"I am rather skilled at repairing charms, Harry will be more than welcome to break as many of my possessions as he wishes, tonight anyway." Sirius nodded. "And now, to business."

It had been two days since James and Lily had died. And a little over twenty four hours since Dumbledore had persuaded Sirius to bring Harry to Hogwarts, many of the students had been home to join in the celebrations, the rest had stayed behind and celebrated here at Hogwarts, but tonight the students would be returning, and tomorrow lessons would begin once more. Remus had barely had time to consider the fact that he was going to be teaching here, let alone had an opportunity to become nervous about it.

"I don't think it would be wise if the whole school knew Harry was here, but alas, Hogwarts is Hogwarts and secrets rarely stay secret for long." Sirius wanted to ask Dumbledore how they were going to keep Harry's presence here a secret, he wanted to know who would know they were there, what parts of the castle they'd be confined to, where they'd sleep, and the one question he didn't think could be answered, but needed to ask someone, _anyone_… how was he supposed to cope. But he didn't get a chance, the door to the office was burst open and James Potter's one time enemy, Severus Snape, entered the room unannounced. Sirius rose to his feet and placed Harry on the chair. He shot a glare at Snape, they had detested each other almost as much James and Snape had. Whatever Snape had been intending on saying was lost as he spotted Sirius and Remus.

"Black. What are you doing here?"

"They are here on my invitation, Severus." When Snape did nothing more than continue to glare at the two friends Dumbledore felt it important to say more. "You are not the only one to have suffered a loss by recent events, Sirius and Remus have lost two of their greatest friends." Snape looked as though he might say something, there was a sadness in his eyes and Sirius suspected that Snape's love for Lily overpowered his love for the dark arts, but he doubted he would even pretend to be sorry James was dead, so he could not conjure up a shred of sympathy for the man who stood before him. His gaze fell past Sirius to the chair he had just vacated.

"Is that…is he… Lily's son?" Sirius quickly lifted Harry into his arms, the toddler howled at the sudden movement and Sirius rubbed his back softly, unsure what to do, whenever he had cried before Sirius had always returned him to one of his parents. Snape's eyes flashed from Sirius to Dumbledore.

"You aren't letting _him_ take care of Lily's child?"

"Lily and James named Sirius godfather, he was their choice, and." He turned to look at Sirius, smiling at him softly. "I must say, it was a very fine choice."

"Lily has a sister. Why can't he go to her? She's his family."

"I do not wish to discuss the matter with you Severus, I feel I have made the right decision, although I am unsure it was correctly mine to make."

"Lily and James trusted you, they would value your opinion." Remus told the older man, speaking for the first time since they had entered the office.

"Thank you, Remus. Now," he turned to Snape once again. "The students should be arriving shortly, you should return to the great hall, I suspect some of the students in your house will be missing family members, it would be most wise for you to be there." When he had left the room, looking displeased, but knowing it would not do well to argue with Dumbledore, Sirius opened his mouth to speak. "Yes, Sirius, Severus is teaching here. Potions. Now, Remus, if you would come with me to the feast, an introduction is probably in order. Sirius, I'll have our head boy show you to your room, although, I would not be surprised if you could find it yourself." Sirius suspected Dumbledore knew of the marauders', as they liked to call themselves, most prized possession, a map of the school and it's grounds, which not only showed where everything was, but also where every_one_ was. But, Sirius mused as he sat down with Harry, Dumbledore had probably known about it whilst they were still students here, he was never one to quash a sense of adventure, after all.

**A/N: I know it's all a bit rough around the edges at the moment, but when everyone's settled in it'll be more about Harry, I promise!**


	3. Gone

**A/N: Okay, so this didn't go anywhere near the direction I was intending it to but I kept getting stuck and I just couldn't get it on the road so I just did what my hands told me to, I would say pen but I was typing not writing, so alas, modern technology battles out old phrases that would sound so much better, and poured out Sirius' emotions. But I think it's turned out fairly well, if slightly depressing, and oddly draining to write. Anyway, enjoy, I hope. **

The head boy, a tall Hufflepuff boy Sirius vaguely remembered seeing around the castle before he had left Hogwarts, entered the room without warning. He glanced first a Sirius, and then at Harry, who was chewing on the fabric of Sirius' robes. His eyes lingered on the toddler.

"Is that… is he really…?" Sirius said nothing but just stared at the teenager expectantly. As if realising Sirius had no intention of answering his question he silently led him from the room.

Carrying Harry and a heavy bag through the corridors of Hogwarts without him being noticed was not as simple as it had first seemed, Harry refused to stay still and Sirius nearly dropped him more than once, the weight of the bag was slowing their pace and several students seemed to have strayed from the feast. The head boy, who Sirius learned was called Thompson, told them to make their way back to the great hall, and hurried Sirius through the castle.

He had never been so relieved to see a bed in his life, once Thompson had left and Sirius had set Harry down on the floor he sat on the bed, it suddenly dawned on him that he hadn't really slept since James had died. The first night had been spent at his mother's house, discussing Harry's future with Remus and Dumbledore, the day that followed he had spent trying to entertain Harry, and to keep him away from his mother's deeply disturbed house elf, whilst Harry found Kreacher intriguing and had reached out to hug him like a teddy bear every time he had seen him, Sirius was sure Kreacher did not find Harry very cuddly at all, and wouldn't put it past him to attempt to smother the small boy. His mother had returned that evening and Sirius had taken Harry to Remus', not wanting to inflict his mother upon someone so innocent. They had spent all night discussing Harry's future, and coming to Hogwarts, what it would be like to be back within these walls. When Sirius had finally drifted off to sleep he had been awoken scarcely two hours later by Harry calling out for him. He strong suspected Harry just thought his parents had gone on a little holiday, letting Sirius baby sit for a few days, he couldn't understand that they were gone. Gone. Sirius kicked hard at one of bed's legs. Gone. James and Lily Potter. He lifted Harry beside him sadly and wondered if he would feel like this forever.

He felt empty, like half of him was missing, which he supposed it was, he and James had been a double act since they had first met on the Hogwarts Express, over ten years ago, and now it was just him. He tickled Harry's feet softly and sighed.

He'd seen death many times, they had lost so many people, before the war and during it. But he hadn't felt pain like this when his father had died. He hadn't felt this empty when he lost his brother. The pain he was feeling now didn't even compare to that which he had felt when each of James' parents had died, and he had been almost as close to them as James was. Maybe it was the double blow, losing two people that were so important to him at once. Maybe it was because most of the wizarding world were celebrating, their hadn't been time for them to grieve, they hadn't been allowed that precious time, because the war had ended, the world was safe, and no one seemed to notice that Lily and James were gone, no one seemed to be aware that there was a little boy who had become an orphan, no one seemed to realise that there were two people dead who had been alive merely days ago, no one seemed to see that the biggest part of Sirius had had a hole blown through it.

If he really thought about it, he could say it hurt more because not only had he lost them, but they had been betrayed by Peter, who was supposed to be their friend, but as he lifted a sleepy Harry into the cot which had been placed beside his bed, he knew, deep down, the pain hurt so much, it cut so deep, because he was wracked with a guilt that he thought it would never fade. He couldn't sleep because every time he closed his eyes he saw their faces, begging him to help them, blaming him.

He lay on his new bed hours, unable to sleep, not allowing it to come because he knew his sleep would be plagued with nightmares, he didn't want to see them die, he didn't want to hear them beg him to save them, he didn't want to hear their angry voices, blaming him and his stupid plan. How could he not have seen it, how could he have not noticed, it was obvious when he thought about it, but perhaps that had been his problem, he hadn't thought about it. But Peter had always liked having big friends, he'd clung to their popularity all through school, and they'd let him. They hadn't even seen him as a tagalong, they had accepted him as a friend, and though his eagerness to please had irritated Sirius as they got older, and James when he began to deflate his head and didn't feel the need for constant admiration, they had taken Peter on as an equal, he wasn't less than them, he was one of them. He had been their friend, but it was undeniable that he loved the popularity, everyone in the school knew his name because everyone in the school knew Sirius' name, knew James' name, and he clung to that, he gripped onto it for all it was worth, he liked power, popularity and people he could hide behind. The more he thought about it, the more obvious it seemed, Voldemort would have become the ultimate protector for Peter, the biggest bully in the playground, someone he could hide safely behind.

Sirius fiddled with a stray thread on his pillow case. He had underestimated Peter, he had to admit they had all at some point or another questioned why he had been placed in Gryffindor, _where dwell the brave at heart_, Sirius was reminded of James' proud words when he told them all he wanted to be in Gryffindor on that first journey to Hogwarts, the journey that had been a decade ago but could have been yesterday it was so fresh in Sirius' mind. He would never have imagined that Peter would be brave enough, would have enough bottle, to be a spy, to lie to them, to all of them, to look him in the eye, to look them in the eye, Remus, Lily…James. And lie. To make them think he cared for them. He hit out angrily at the thin air. They were too young to die, far too young. And Harry was far too young to be alone in the world. Not for the first time Sirius questioned how he was going to cope. He glanced out the window, looking out at the night sky he whispered softly, whether it was to the sky, the empty room or to himself was anyone's guess.

"Why them? Why now? Prongs… I miss you already…."

It wasn't that James and Sirius had never spent this long apart, although admittedly they had never spent more than two weeks apart since they were eleven, and he tried to think as Harry's innocent mind did, that he'd see them soon, that they weren't gone, just away, just for a few days, but he had no childlike view of the world, he understood death, he barely understood life, but death he got, death he got loud and clear, and he was older than his years, he was much older than he had been three days ago, had he looked in the mirror he would have seen old man's eyes staring back at him, darkened by the ghosts of his past, aged by the pain of situations that he should never have had to face, pained by the result of a war he should never have had to fight, angered by losses he should never have had to bear, and deep, deep down in the dark pools that were a window to his soul, lay a fear, fear that he would fail at duties he should never have had to take on. And behind those aged eyes lay a young man, who felt he would never be whole again, a war veteran with the weight of the world on his shoulders. And that young man, that war veteran, knew what the innocent child lying feet away from him did not. That Lily and James would never come back, that they couldn't come back, that they truly were gone.


	4. Survivor's Guilt

**A/N: Okay, so, confession time. I have absolutely no idea where this going! But hopefully you'll stick with it regardless, thanks for reading & reviewing, so, let's see what Moony's up to, shall we?**

Remus sat at the head table in the great hall, glancing out at the sea of students, he became overwhelmed with childhood memories, his schooldays playing before his eyes, he could see his year group walking into the room, crowding together, he remembered how scared he'd been when he had sat in front of the whole school and placed the sorting hat upon his head, willing it to sort him into Gryffindor, where Sirius had already been placed, and where James surely would be.

He had met them on the train, after being thrown unceremoniously from the compartment he had been sat alone in he had walked down the train, feeling more alone than he ever had done and wondering how long he would last before they sent him home. The door to James and Sirius' compartment had been left open and they had called him in, offering him a chocolate frog. He'd taken it and that was that. Friends for life. Until they day the died. And beyond, he thought sadly, because he loved James like a brother and that hadn't changed, nor had his feelings towards Lily, who he had come to regard as a sister in the same way he had taken James, Sirius, and even Peter, as brothers.

His arrival at the table had not gone unnoticed amongst the students, those who had spotted him were whispering, wondering who he was, and where their defence against the dark arts teacher, whose seat Remus was occupying, had gone. Older students who recognised him as one of the infamous marauders, one of James Potter's friends, were also curious about this new face on the teacher's table, wondering if he was there because of the Potters, wondering if he knew _the boy who lived_. He smiled sadly when he heard that particular phrase, so that was what they were calling Harry.

When they had been sat there a while and all the seats appeared to have been filled, caretaker Argus Filch closed the doors and Dumbledore rose to his feet. "Ah, the chitter chatter of happy voices, music to my magical ears, but I dare say you're all feeling rather peckish?"

There was a general murmur of agreement and Dumbledore chuckled softly, several of the teachers smiled, the atmosphere was still celebratory and almost everyone was in high spirits. Although, Remus noted silently, the number of students at the Slytherin table seemed more diminished that he had ever remembered it being.

"Before you tuck into the magnificent feast that awaits you all, I have a few announcements. Firstly, the dark forest _is_ still strictly forbidden, the war may have ended but that does not mean the forest is safe. Many people ought to remember that, students and teachers alike." He turned to smile at Remus, who, remembering his school day antics with some embarrassment, and feeling conscious that the eyes of every student were on him, suddenly became very interested in his goblet. "Which brings me neatly to my next point, we have a new defence against the dark arts teacher, Professor Lupin will be taking over as from Professor Read as of tomorrow." Remus nodded his head to the students and noticed a few seventh year Gryffindors were on their feet applauding the new appointment. "And it appears, Professor, your childhood reputation precedes you." When the laughter and applause had died down he turned to the students once more, a more solemn look on his face.

"We are here, all of us alive and well, war is often the worst of times, but one which brings out the best in many people. James and Lily Potter were such people." His voice bear a little emotion as was possible, but his eyes held a pain visible behind his half moon spectacles. "Harry Potter is being heralded as the boy who lived, he is but a child, and his parents were not so fortunate as to have survived alongside him," Remus wondered for a moment if Dumbledore was about to tell the students of Hogwarts of the castle's latest guest. "The Potters were students at this school just three years ago, they were both wonderful people and assets to the wizarding world, and they will be sorely missed, by their friends," Professor McGonagall, who was sat to Remus' right, patted his arm softly, "by their family, and by all who knew them. And so, before we eat, for Lily and James, a moment's silence."

You could have heard a pin drop in the great hall, even the Slytherins were silent. Remus glanced towards the Gryffindor table once again and got the distinct impression that several first years had stopped breathing. The moment passed and Dumbledore stood and raised his goblet. "To the Potters." The toast rang out throughout the great hall and Remus' thoughts drifted to the staff tower, where little Harry was, probably sleeping now, so unaware of all that had happened.

"Now, let us enjoy a fine banquet before bed." Dumbledore returned to his seat and the tables in front of them filled with an assortment of food, more than a poor man could even dream of, but Remus didn't have an appetite, he barely ate anything and stood long before the feast was over and excused himself quietly to Dumbledore, who merely gave an understanding nod, and asked him to visit his office before lessons began the next day.

He managed to leave the great hall virtually unnoticed and, unsure where to go now that he was finally alone, he wandered the corridors which had been host to many an adventure during his days here. Without even realising it he had arrived outside Gryffindor tower. The portrait which hung at the entrance was the same as it had always been, it featured a very large woman, wearing a pink dress. She eyed him, a hint of recognition in her painted face. "Potter, Black…Lupin. It's Lupin, isn't it? Not here to cause trouble I hope?"

"No, no, just wandering, just remembering."

"Well, don't remember too hard. I haven't forgotten those spells you miscreants shot at me in your fifth year." Remus smiled nostalgically.

"Ah, yes, quite amusing if I remember rightly."

"For you boys maybe, but not, for me."

"My apologies. And Sirius' too I'm sure." He smiled and, sliding his hands into the pockets of his patched robes, he walked away from Gryffindor tower. He had wanted to go to his bedroom, but he knew it was opposite Sirius' own, and if his friend heard him he would no doubt call him in, but he knew that he needed time alone, time to think, time to grieve. Time to let the guilt he had been feeling since he had learned of Peter's betrayal pass. Remus could tell him a thousand times that he wasn't to blame, but he knew the other man, his other best friend, his other brother, was plagued with nightmares that no amount of talking would rid him of, he knew that the only person who could allow Sirius to become at peace with himself, was Sirius.

Perhaps he thought by raising Harry he would gradually be able to ease his guilt, Remus had never been quite sure how Sirius' mind worked, nor had he been brave enough to question it. James had, more than once, but their friendly banter had never really taught them much about their friend's mentality. He thought back on the seven years he'd shared a bedroom with those boys, boys who'd become men, men who'd become soldiers, and far too young, and as was the consequence of war warriors had fallen, two of the greatest had been taken out. And heroes were born of those who survived, Harry; too young to understand, to even realise, Sirius; too broken to bask in the glory of victory, Remus; not whole enough to be awarded that glory. And there were many, many more. The fallen, the victorious, the survivors, and there it lay, deep within them, the curse of war, something that could so easily break anyone who had fought for their cause. Whether your side won or lost, if you survived there was one thing you could never escape; you had lived, so why had they not?

**A/N:** **I've really struggled with this chapter, I've rewritten huge chunks of it and I'm not very happy with it at all, so I apologise for it, but I wanted to give Remus a more contemplative chapter before he began teaching, although I do find him very hard to write, so I apologise for any out of character-ness.**

**Two or three more chapters and then we'll skip a bit of time, but I think it'll be a fair few chapters before Harry starts lessons himself, it depends how poorly it's flowing, if I keep struggling with it I might skip right ahead. But we shall see, reviews would be much appreciated.**


	5. Good Morning, Marauder

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews everyone, really appreciate it! And thanks to everyone who's reading actually, makes it worth writing.**

**Harry's going to call Remus Uncle Moony, because Uncle Remus reminds me too much of Song of the South!**

Sirius had successfully fallen into a fitful sleep at around four am, he was awoken a few hours later by Harry's yells of delight. "Unco Moony!" Sirius opened his eyes slowly to see Remus lifting Harry from his cot. He didn't move, just watched his friend with his godson.

"Hello little marauder. Sssh, let's not wake Sirius." Harry reached out and grabbed a handful of Remus' hair and he yelped involuntarily.

"It's a good job I'm already awake, isn't it?" Sirius mumbled from the bed, holding his arms out for Harry. Remus placed the toddler on the bed and he crawled over to Sirius for a cuddle. The other man sat on the end of the bed watching them. Harry kissed Sirius' nose and tried to clamber over his shoulder, reaching out for a picture of James and Lily that he'd placed on his bedside table the night before.

"Mama!" He squealed excitedly and, finally making it past his godfather he picked it up and hugged it to him, turning to look at his father's friends. "Mine."

Sirius sat up properly and lifted Harry onto his lap and allowed him to keep hold of the picture. "Harry?"

"Mine."

"Okay, it's yours."

"Mama."

"Yeah, it's your mummy and daddy." He sighed. How do you explain to a fifteen month old that his parents won't be coming back? He looked to Remus who shrugged. He found it odd that Harry hadn't asked after his parents at all, he wondered if he realised they were gone, but he seemed content with the picture, putting the frame into his mouth, Remus reached forward and gently pulled it away.

"Mine Unco Moony!"

"Can I see?"

"Mine!"

"I don't think he wants to share, mate."

"No, nor do I." They let Harry play with the photo and sat in an uncomfortable silence, Sirius fiddled with the same loose thread he had the night before, whilst Remus stared out the window at the lake they had spent seven summers lazing beside, memories flooded back to him and he closed his eyes for a few moments. Sirius, who had noticed this, watched curiously. Remus had always been the most thoughtful of the marauders, he over analysed everything, they had teased him for it as teenagers, as sudden amusing thought came across Sirius' mind and he chuckled softly. Harry, noticing this, giggled away, with no idea what was so funny. Remus looked bemused.

"What are you two laughing at?"

"You. Teaching."

"Why's that funny?" Sirius couldn't quite make out whether he was offended or not, but the childishness in him didn't mind either way, he kicked Remus in the back so he tumbled off the edge of the bed, and grinned at his friend. "Sirius, that's not funny."

"I think it's funny."

"You would."

"Harry thinks it's funny."

"Harry thinks everything's funny."

"James would have thought it was funny." That, it seemed, was the end of the argument. James undoubtedly would have found it amusing and Remus picked himself back up, he laughed himself.

"You and James always thought shoving people off beds was funny."

"It always was, that's why." He grinned, thinking back to his first night at Hogwarts. James had bounced onto his bed and Sirius had grabbed his ankle, tripping him so he fell to the mattress, the pair of them had, when they stopped laughing, then bounced onto Remus' bed, their new friend had objected whole heartedly and they'd bounced onto Peter's, who had delivered a few choice swear words before joining them to jump around the beds in a circle. After three full circuits Remus still hadn't moved so the other three boys had jumped beside his bed and tugged on the quilt he'd been laying on, resulting in him falling to the ground with a loud bump, that had a prefect in their room demanding to know what was going on.

The more Sirius thought about it the more he realised they had so many days like that, they rarely took anything seriously and were always getting into trouble for something or other. They spent more time in detention than out of it, and if they were together they found ways to communicate their boredom to one another, for a long time they had used two way mirrors for this purpose until Professor McGonagall had discovered that they weren't just both incredibly vain and had confiscated them in their fifth year. They had managed to rescue them with the use of James' invisibility cloak on the last day of term, but hadn't dared use them again. Well, not if one of them had a detention with McGonagall anyway.

It was no wonder neither of them were made prefects, although somehow James had been made head boy, causing Sirius to both firmly believe Dumbledore had lost his mind, and insist that he'd never be able to live with the shame of sharing a dormitory with a prefect _and_ the head boy. James had told him he could sleep outside.

"Sirius, you in there?"

"Huh?"

"I was just saying, I hope I don't have to teach anyone as obnoxious as you were."

"I wasn't obnoxious. I was an arrogant berk, but I wasn't _obnoxious._"

"Hmm."

"I think you're the youngest teacher to Hogwarts in about eight hundred years." Sirius told him. "You'll have loads of little girls fancying you. "He grinned when Remus went scarlet and jumped out of bed, feeling much happier as he thought of how amusing James would find the situation. Remus had always been shy around girls, he was bad enough when they were his own age, how he'd be with an eleven year old declaring her undying love for him, he'd love to see. He contemplated giving some first years a love potion. Remus eyed him reproachfully.

"Don't even think about it."

"What?" Sirius attempted to conduct himself with an air of innocence, but it was obvious he was plotting something.

"Love potion." Sirius opened his mouth to defend his integrity but Remus just laughed. "I've known you far too long not to be able to tell when you're planning mischief."

"Are you, Remus John Lupin, professor of defence against the dark arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardly, my very best friend, my comrade through seven years of education, doubting my ability to behave and suggesting that I, of all people, would engage in something that one might class as tomfoolery?"

"Yes, I am." Remus smiled and tickled Harry, who had crawled to the edge of the bed when Sirius got up and was looking as though he felt he should be centre of attention. "Bye bye Harry, be good for Sirius."

"Bye bye?" Harry tipped his head to one side and gave Sirius the impression that he had no intention of letting Remus leave.

"Yes, bye bye, I'll see you later."

"Unco Moony go bye bye?"

"Uncle Moony's going to go to work."

"Unco Moony come back?"

"I'll be back by teatime, I promise." He smiled and hugged little Harry before passing him to Sirius, Harry's doubt that he would see Remus again suggested that he understood his parents weren't coming back, he reached down for the photo again and hugged it to him as soon as Sirius handed him it.

"Have a good day fighting off the first years, Moony." Sirius had to cover Harry's ears when Remus' responded with words you certainly wouldn't hear in a children's story.


	6. Wandering

Sirius was bored. Harry was very bored. And Remus was still working. Sirius lifted Harry up and walked from the room, he wanted to ask Dumbledore where he was allowed to go and what he was supposed to do with a restless one year old all day.

Harry, however, had other ideas. As soon as they left the room he clapped his hands excitedly. "Unco Moony!"

"Uncle Moony's working, Harry."

"We go!" Sirius had never been good at denying Harry anything, which is probably why Lily and James allowed Remus to baby sit much more often than they did him, and as much as Sirius knew he shouldn't let Harry be seen, but should go straight to Dumbledore, he carried Harry the familiar way to the defence against the dark arts class room. He stood outside with his godson, watching. The room hadn't changed at all since they'd left, he was sure he could see some of his graffiti on the desk which he had shared with James. Harry reached out for the door but Sirius pulled him back, shaking his head.

"Uncle Moony's busy but we can see him later." Harry snuggled into Sirius' chest, staring at Remus with wide eyes through the pane of glass in the centre of the door. He could hear Remus' voice clearly as he spoke to his class of second years.

"You've probably all heard of grindylows, I know my grandmother used to try and keep me out of trouble by telling me there were grindylows in her pond. I think I believed her until I was about seven." Sirius laughed, so did many of the students. The girls in the front row certainly seemed taken with their new teacher. Sirius couldn't wait to tease him about it later.

"Keen to show off the boy are you? Always did like to be centre of attention, didn't you Black?" Sirius turned when he heard Snape's voice and gave him a look of pure loathing. He reached for his wand but, remembering Harry was in his arms, decided against cursing him.

"I didn't ask for this, none of us did, I'm not carrying Harry around to show off, it's not some sort of game, Lily and James are dead, Snape, _dead_." Although Sirius was certain Harry couldn't have understood what he had said, he had to wonder if they were underestimating how much the toddler actually did understand when he burst into tears, screaming loudly for his mummy. "Sssh Harry, sssh, come on." He rocked the small boy, rubbing his back and trying to settle him, all the while glaring at Snape. Harry was screaming so loudly that Sirius didn't hear the scraping of chairs as the students in Remus' classroom rose to their feet, wanting to see what was going on outside the room, he didn't hear the door opening, or Remus' footsteps. Harry was pulled from his arms before he even realised his friend was there. Remus looked furious.

He tried to settle Harry with one hand, whilst shutting his classroom door with the other, he flicked his wand quickly and the small window was covered. His eyes drifted from Sirius to Snape and back again, a look of disappointment came across his face as his eyes rested on Sirius.

"What's he doing here? You shouldn't be carrying him about the castle, you heard what Dumbledore said!"

"He wanted to see you." Sirius felt ashamed of himself. Not for giving into Harry, he'd do anything he could to make his godson smile, but for rising to Snape's bait, for snapping at him and for upsetting Harry. Remus settled him quickly; soon Harry's head was on Remus' shoulder, his thumb in his mouth. Sirius still hadn't spoken. Snape was looking at all three of them with disgust. No one spoke, no one moved. Suddenly Dumbledore appeared from nowhere.

"A lot of commotion for such an early time in the morning, don't you think?" He smiled at them. "Severus, there are some third years running amuck in the dungeons, a job for you I think." When Snape had left, looking very disgruntled, Dumbledore smiled at the two old friends. "Sirius, let's take Harry up to my office, I think we can occupy him with Fawkes for a while, he is very fond of children. Remus, your class is no doubt wondering where their teacher has gotten to, Sirius can catch you up on all I tell him. Come along, Mr Black." Without waiting for a response the older man strode away, Sirius took a reluctant Harry from Remus and followed his old headmaster through the corridors, not daring to speak or to question him.

Dumbledore himself didn't speak for some time, they were sat on opposite sides of his large desk, Harry was on the floor, stroking Fawkes' feathers with his podgy hand, Dumbledore smiled. "Such a wonderful sight. I hope to have many more. But we can't keep Harry here if you will insist on wandering. And especially not if you continue to pick fights with Severus." Sirius opened his mouth to speak but Dumbledore raised his hand. "Yes, I know he hardly makes things easy but for Harry's sake I think we should let things slide."

Sirius stared over at his godson. Dumbledore had successfully managed to make him feel like a naughty schoolboy again, he half expected to be given a detention, which was the way most of his visits to this office ended, generally he was accompanied by James, more often than not Peter as well, and on the odd occasion a petrified Remus, who had never been as much of a fan of trouble as the others.

"There is, of course, the matter of Lily and James' funeral. Will you be taking Harry?"

"I…" Sirius hadn't thought about it. He hadn't even thought about there being a funeral. He'd seen their bodies, still warm to the touch, but it hadn't seemed as though they were really dead, he felt he had accepted it but at the same time, he had never considered that they would need to be buried, to be lain to rest, that they truly would never come back. Perhaps he hadn't comprehended what their deaths meant quite as much as he had thought. Dumbledore asked him various questions and discussed what might happen at the funeral but Sirius didn't hear a word of it, lost in his own thoughts, guilty, betrayal, hurt, fear, uncertainty. He looked up suddenly. "As long as they're buried together, I don't think anything else matters."


	7. Nightmares

**A/N: As always, thanks for reading!**

"What did Dumbledore say?" Remus asked. Harry was asleep in his cot, he had spent much of the day chasing a house elf around their bedroom, to which Sirius had been confined until the end of the week, until things could be thought through properly, and was now considerably worn out. The house elf in question, an energetic little creature called Bobbin, had found it all very entertaining, and had promised to visit Harry the next day, with Dumbledore's permission.

"Not much." Sirius barely looked up, he hadn't met his friend's gaze in hours, not wanting to see the disappointment in his face. It wasn't that Remus wanted to be disappointed, but he couldn't help worrying about Harry, no one was supposed to know he was in the castle, after all, and Hogwarts was the safest place for him as long as no one knew he was there. "He was talking about the funerals. Lily and James'."

"When will they be?" Remus walked towards the bed, sitting beside his friend he lifted his hand, as though to pat Sirius' shoulder, but he appeared to have thought better of it because he slid his hand inside the pocket of his robes instead.

"Saturday." Sirius lifted his gaze from the floor to stare at the photo of Lily and James that Harry had attempted to steal earlier that day. They were smiling at him from the picture, happy, laughing. They were waving at him, not knowing that the light was gone from his eyes, not knowing he was plagued with nightmares, not knowing that their only son, an orphan before he had reached his second birthday, was lying feet away, sleeping soundly, blissfully unaware of all the pain. He turned the picture away, it hurt to look at them, instead he glanced at Remus, not speaking, not moving, just looking. Remus forced a smile onto his face; he had been lost in his own thoughts, hiding within his own nostalgia, fighting his own pain.

It was a while before either of them spoke, Sirius' throat had felt dry for some time, and when his voice filled the room it was hoarse, and pained with emotion. "I've been dreaming about them."

"I thought you had." Sirius didn't ask why Remus thought that, just nodded. Wondering if Remus had the same nightmares, wondering if he shared that pain. But he didn't ask, it seemed such a personal thing that asking seemed unfair. They sat in silence for a long while; they seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. Remus rose to his feet and Harry stirred slightly in his cot, but he didn't wake. "Will we take him to the funeral?"

"I don't know." It was an honest answer. It was something he had been considering since Dumbledore had asked him, hours ago, and yet he had yet to make a decision one way or the other. He was sure a funeral was no place for a toddler, but Harry needed a chance to say goodbye, even if he didn't understand. But would James and Lily have wanted him there? He was their only child, their little light, they both adored him and would have wanted to say goodbye to him, he knew that, but was this the right way? Sirius looked up at Remus. "Would James have taken him?"

"What?"

"If he was alive."

"If he was alive then we wouldn't be having this discussion." Another silence filled the room. Both men were surprised at what Remus had said. Sirius returned his gaze to the floor and for a long while the only sound that could be heard was Harry's shallow breathing. Sirius felt his friend's eyes on him and lifted his head slightly. Remus smiled slightly. "If it was up to James, I think Harry would be there."

No more was said on the matter, Remus left shortly afterwards and Sirius was once again unsure what to do with himself. He watched Harry for a while and then resigned himself to his need for sleep. It took a while but eventually he drifted off.

It wasn't long before the nightmare came, even in his subconscious state he knew it would, James approached him, looking just as he had in life, but his expression the same as it had been when Sirius found him, his eyes out of focus, the life gone from them. He rounded on Sirius, getting closer and closer. Sirius was rooted to the spot, he couldn't move. James called out to him. _Help._ He didn't move. He didn't help. Lily's screams filled his ears.

He sat bolt upright, awake and in a cold sweat. He rose from the bed, shivering as the night air hit his bare skin. He contemplated transforming into a dog, his emotions were lesser when he wasn't in human form, and though he had rarely slept as a dog, he expected he wouldn't be able to dream, and if he couldn't dream then James' face couldn't haunt him, if he couldn't dream he wouldn't hear Lily's screams, he wouldn't have to wake to the sound of her cry, but he knew he couldn't. Harry wouldn't understand if he woke and saw he was alone, not in a room he wasn't quite used to yet. Sirius sighed and walked to the door, intending to wake Remus, talking things over, see if it helped any. He opened the door, checked Harry was still sleeping and crossed the hallway, thinking about the possibility of obtaining a potion for a dreamless sleep, he knew such a thing existed, but then he remembered who the potions professor was, he didn't trust Snape not swap it for poison.

He put a hand on Remus' doorknob, but stopped when he heard a sound from within. He leaned closer, not wanting to eavesdrop but not wanting to leave Remus if he needed him. He heard a loud scream. A scream he'd heard before; it was Remus. During their third year, after a particularly painful transformation, Remus had had nightmares for weeks, each night he had woken his roommates screaming. Each night they'd sat up with him, talking, playing games, laughing and joking. The nightmares were always pushed to the back of their minds. Until the next night.

He stepped back, realising the doorknob. Remus had been glad of the company when he was thirteen, but he was a grown man now, and might not take as kindly to it, there was a chance he'd been considerably embarrassed, despite knowing Sirius himself was struggling with nightmares. He stared at the door for a few more minutes, unsure what to do. After a while he heard Remus' voice. "It's alright Padfoot, you can come in."

He opened the door and walked in, looking slightly bemused. "How did you know I was there?"

"You're about as quiet as charging a Hippogriff with bells on." Sirius laughed and sat on the end of his friend's bed. Remus made to get up. Sirius looked confused. "We'd better go to your room; we can't leave Harry for too long." He paused as he looked for a dressing gown, once he had pulled it on he smiled at his friend once again. "Have you still got those exploding snap cards…?"


	8. Time To Say Goodbye

The week passed slowly, Bobbin visited every day to keep Harry company and the toddler became quite taken with him. Sirius' life had become very dull indeed. It wasn't that he didn't love Harry, or enjoy spending time with him, but being confined to the staff tower and spending the majority of his time with a toddler was frustrating beyond belief. He had always been very much a free spirit, he'd run wild given half an opportunity and had he not had such a heavy responsibility placed upon him, and were he not still grieving for his brother and his wife, because he didn't regard James as anything other than a brother, he would have rebelled against his confinement and would be running around the grounds, leaving chaos in his wake, just as he had as a boy.

He knew he would be allowed out during the week, the full moon was approaching and Remus would be incapacitated for a day or two. Sirius was to take over his classes, the students were, this month anyway, going to be told they'd have a guest speaker, someone who had been through auror training. Which Sirius had, although he, along with James, had abandoned it before completion in order to give their full time and attention to the war. The hope was that by doing this little attention would be brought to Remus' absence, the less frequently students were told that he was ill, the less likely the were to put two and two together. Despite the prospect of a varied environment and different company to come, Sirius' spirits remained low.

As Saturday dawned he changed from miserable to hollow. He was determined not to cry, not today, not with Harry in his arms, not when so many other people would be grieving, because he was supposed to be the strong one, and if he could break down, well that was little hope for everyone who knew him, who knew them.

He carried Harry, who was unusually subdued, to Dumbledore's office, from where they were to floo to a small pub near the chapel where the funeral service was to be conducted. Harry slipped his thumb in his mouth and buried his head into his godfather's chest as they entered the room. The silence was deafening. He laughed lightly, James would have hated it to be so quiet, so dull and depressing. James celebrated life every second he lived it. He was loud, he was cocky, he was boisterous, he was trouble, but most of all, he was the life and soul. Remus cracked a smile, his thoughts levelled with Sirius'. His friend clapped him on the back.

"Moony mate, you look like shit." The honesty in his voice was welcome, it wasn't a harsh criticism, it was a joke, it was true he did look more than worse for wear, but it was a joke. And Remus laughed. Harry, for the first time since birth, didn't reach out for Remus the second he saw him, he kept his head leant against Sirius' chest, finding comfort there from a pain he was far too young to understand.

"Time of the month, I do believe James would have said."

"That or opening the doors to your furry little problem. How is Flopsy?" The old joke about Remus' badly behaved rabbit never failed to raise a laugh, and both men chuckled softly, despite the atmosphere suggesting it was wholly inappropriate. James would have found cause to laugh, and they knew it.

The journey to the pub was not a pleasant one. Sirius had never been a fan of travelling by floo powder, and Harry absolutely despised it. He had cried from the moment they stepped into the flame right up until they came out at the other end, despite Sirius' best efforts to shield his little eyes to stop him getting any soot in them. He coughed lightly and buried his face in his godfather's robes once again. Sirius made no attempt to coax him out, just stroked his dark hair softly and brushed the ash from them both.

Taking a deep breath he walked towards the chapel, Harry still sniffling softly, his thumb back in his mouth. He carried the tiny boy into the church and all heads turned to look at him, he caught vague whispers about Harry and held the boy closer to him, feeling more protective now than he had ever done.

His eyes met those of a woman sitting alone at the back of the church, she was tall and thin and looked very familiar to him. After a few moments he realised who she was. Lily's sister, Petunia, He hadn't expected her to show up here and wondered if she intended to take Harry from him. He hugged the toddler closer still and pulled his gaze from her quickly, walking to the front of the church where the coffins lay. It was a closed casket funeral and for this Sirius was very grateful, he knew that they would look as though they were merely sleeping and he couldn't bear for Harry to call out to them, couldn't bear to see the hurt on his face when they didn't wake up, didn't come to him, hold him, tell him fairytales, just like they had always done. He kissed Harry's forehead softly. The toddler reached above him to swot Sirius away and his godfather chuckled. Sitting down, he placed Harry upon his lap and stared over the at coffins. Harry did too but whether that was because he knew that was where his parents lay, or if it was simply because Sirius was doing so, he couldn't be sure.

The ceremony might have taken six hours or six minutes for all Sirius noticed of it. Remus gave the eulogy for two reason, firstly, Sirius was in no way up to it, and secondly, his way with words had a lot to be desired, no one wanted a repeat of his best man speech, he supposed. James had been scandalised and had buried his head in his hands, turning scarlet, whilst Lily had hauled at his sleeve, desperately trying to pull down and silently pleading with him to stop embarrassing them. Many a whisper had gone around the room about James' best man, questioning what sort of family Lily had married into.

They had, of course, both forgiven him, but when they named him godfather to Harry they had warned him with an air of seriousness that he was in no circumstance to make a speech at the Christening, or at the party that followed. He laughed at the memory and realised, as he felt several pairs of eyes on him, that the funeral service had drawn to a close. He turned to look at the accusing faces.

"What? Lily and James would want to see people laughing, see people happy. They wouldn't want Harry growing up seeing miserable faces his whole life, they fought to make sure Harry and kids like him would grow up in a happy world, and they died fighting for that. James would want the world filled with laughter, he'd want people to remember him with smiles on their faces. And so would Lily." Many of the people staring at him still looked critical, but he didn't care. "Come on, when did we ever see them miserable? Never. They were always happy, they were always laughing and joking and kissing each other and they knew what mattered. Love and laughter. So I'll remember them and smile, and yeah, I'll remember them and laugh. Because I _loved_ them. Both of them. They were my family and they were my friends and I'm going to raise their son to laugh, all the time, because that's what they wanted."

Harry, who, as always, seemed to be in full agreement with his godfather, pulled his thumb out of his mouth and giggled, reaching out for Remus, who was sat beside them. When on his uncle's lap he clapped his podgy hands together and bounced about. "Mama! Dada!" He giggled and looked at Remus. "Unco Moony hug!" He wrapped his little arms around Remus' neck, not saying another word, and not letting go until Remus began to laugh along with them.

Soon the room was filled with laughter, as people remembered their departed friends, telling each other stories of the hexes Lily had put upon James, the trouble James himself had gotten into at school, the charm Lily had set upon a vile teapot they'd received as a wedding present, which had resulted in said teapot tumbling out of the window and narrowly missing James' head. The stories continued and the laughter of Lily and James' dearest friends warmed Sirius' heart, his spirits finally lifted.

Petunia Dursley left the church silently, she didn't check how her nephew was doing, nor did she say goodbye to any of her sister's friends. No one noticed her leave. Just as no one noticed a rat slip through a hole in the floorboards under one of the pews.

**A/N: Not that it probably matters to most of you, but I do like to be as accurate as possible, so I just thought I'd say that I'm pretty sure that I've got the date for the full moon right, the first Saturday in November 1981 was the 7****th****, so it was just before the full moon (on the 11****th****). Hmm, I like accuracy. I also like reviews. Very much so. **

**And, perhaps, reviewers might be tempted by the promise of alone time with the marauder of their choice?**

**Much love from your author!**


	9. Lectures On The Important Things

**A/N:****Thanks to everyone who read & reviewed the last chapter.**

**Special thanks (and a dedication) to ibelieveintrue love, whose curiosity to see this scene was the inspiration for the chapter, and without which I may have skipped ahead!**

**And, I offer you all a brief mention of topless young Sirius, just for those with over active imaginations.**

Sirius had slept. He had slept through the night without a single nightmare, without the remotest disturbance waking him. He felt the guilt wash over him as Remus awoke him, it looked as though he had had a rough night. It was the first time since they were fifteen that Remus had been alone on the full moon, every month since Hogwarts at least one of them had spent the night with him, in animagus form. It would, in actual fact, have been Sirius' time the night before, but Harry couldn't be left alone, so Remus had trekked to the Shrieking Shack alone, somehow the distant sound of his howls had soothed Sirius, perhaps it was because they made him feel his friend was close, but for whatever reason Sirius had slept through the night. He sat up, looking into the scarred face of his best friend, which was now littered with fresh cuts and bruises.

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be, Harry needed you and… it was bearable, I felt more like myself than I used to when I was alone." Sirius simply nodded, he doubted it had remotely resembled being bearable, but he knew Remus would never admit to it, even if it had been the worst transformation he had ever suffered through. "You should get up and get ready to teach, I'll take Harry along to the hospital wing with me, Madam Pomfrey's going to see what she can do to clean me up a bit."

"Hospital wing?"

"Yeah, didn't Dumbledore tell you? Madam Pomfrey's going to look after him up there while you're teaching." Sirius nodded and wondered why he hadn't considered who would be watching Harry all day, he had known Remus would be far too exhausted to take care of a toddler today. He patted his friend's shoulder, noticing the lines under his eyes for the first time. He looked exhausted.

Sirius looked around for some clean clothes, thanking Merlin for house elves; washing never had been his strong point, whilst Remus lifted a sleepy Harry from his cot. The toddler was sleeping later and later, Remus had joked the previous day, when he'd stuck his head around the door to say hello at what Sirius had described as an obscene time of the morning, that Sirius was rubbing off on his godson, and soon he would be a lazy git too. Harry lifted a tiny hand up to touch Remus' bruised face. Sirius smiled proudly, Harry had inherited all of Lily's kindness. He leaned over and kissed his godson's forehead, receiving a whack on the nose in response. There was a lot of James in Harry too.

"Bye bye mate, see you later." Harry looked upset that Sirius, too, would be abandoning him all day and as the tears threatened to fall Sirius handed Harry his toy rabbit, a tribute to Remus, and stroked his hair affectionately. "Bobbin's going to come and see you later." Harry perked up at the thought of seeing his new friend and clambered upwards in Remus' arms, trying to rest his head on his shoulder. Remus attempted to settle him tiredly. "You better go Moony, you need to get to bed."

"Got an attractive woman who can join me have you?"

"How's Poppy Pomfrey take your fancy?"

"Two words."

"Is the second one off?"

"Yes."

"I can take the hint. See you later."

"Don't corrupt my first years!"

"Would I ever?" Remus didn't answer, just laughed tiredly and carried Harry from the room. His joints were stiff and Harry was heavy, Sirius contemplated stopping Remus and carrying Harry there himself, but then remembered he was in his underwear, and exposing his bare chest to the students of Hogwarts was probably not the best way to go about his first day of teaching.

After washing and dressing he took a deep breath, combed his hair and walked out of the room, down the defence against the dark arts classroom. A collection of first years stood outside. He studied them briefly, they were Gryffindors, he thanked Merlin again, the last thing he needed was his first class to be Slytherins. He walked in and indicated for them to follow, perching on the edge of Remus' desk he waited until it seemed that they all were there. A boy in the back row raised his hand. Sirius nodded.

"Who are you?"

"Sirius Black." He leaned back into the desk and studied the boy's face, he looked vaguely familiar but Sirius couldn't place him. "Professor Lupin's asked me to talk to some of his classes about auror training, I'll be coming back every now and then until I've seen all the classes, but you're the first, suppose he wanted to break me in nicely, Gryffindor first years always the best choice."

"You were an auror?" Another boy asked, obviously impressed.

"Not quite, I trained, but I left early, to join the war effort."

"You fought you know who?" A third boy asked. All the girls appeared to be stunned as they stared at him, completely transfixed.

"Not Voldemort personally." A few student shuddered. "But some of his death eaters, yes."

"Did you kill any of them?" The fourth and final boy in the room asked. Sirius shook his head and coughed slightly, awaking the girls from their trance.

"That's not why I'm here anyway. Auror training."

"Why're you here if you're not fully trained? Shouldn't they get a proper auror in?" The first boy spoke again. "Not that I'm complaining." The boy added, seeing his friends glaring at him.

"I think the auror team are a bit busy capturing dark wizards at the moment, and Professor Lupin's a friend of mine." He stood up and motioned for the class to come forward. They moved to the desks and the front. "Do you all know what an auror is?" One of the girls raised her hand nervously, Sirius smiled what he hoped was encouragingly.

"A dark wizard catcher." Sirius nodded, smiling, and the girls dissolved into a gaggle of giggles. He wondered if they behaved like this for Remus, and sat on the desk once again. He began explaining the auror training, answering any questions they asked along the way. The lesson flew by and at the end the students seemed reluctant to leave. He smiled to himself and ushered them towards the door, he had become very keen to see Harry and wanted to get the next class in and out on time so that he could get up to see his godson during the break. The boy who had spoke first, whom Sirius had learned to be called Jack, hung back, as did all the girls, each of them with their eyes fixed firmly on Sirius. Jack leaned against the doorway, stepping back to make room for the Ravenclaw fourth years who had just arrived to get into the room.

"Sir." He said once the way was cleared.

"Yeah?"

"Will they still need aurors once they've caught all you know who's supporters?"

"Probably." Sirius said sadly.

"I want to be one." Sirius smiled and patted his shoulder.

"I'm sure you'd make a good auror some day. Now go on, you'll be late to your next lesson." Jack left. The girls followed, their eyes only leaving Sirius' at the last opportunity.

He had a similar lesson with the fourth years, who had spent so long after the lesson asking him questions that he hadn't managed to get up to see Harry. The following lesson; third year Hufflepuffs, passed just as quickly. Whilst the fourth lesson, just before lunch, was much more subdued and required a lot more talking on Sirius' part. None of the students stayed behind to ask him questions, each seeming just as keen as the last to leave. They were fifth year Slytherins.

Sirius practically sprinted to the hospital wing, sweeping Harry up into his arms as soon as he arrived, and hugging him close. Harry wriggled to be put down, and toddled over to his toy rabbit the second his feet touched the ground again, but Sirius didn't care, he was just happy to see him again, and wondered if this was how it was going to be, would he spend the rest of his life not wanting to be parted from Harry? Was this what being a father felt like? Now he realised how James had felt, why all those times he'd left the pub early, abandoned games of cards, nights out, or in, with the boys, keen to get home to his wife and son. They'd teased him, of course they had, they'd joked he was keen to get home and take Lily to bed. James had always sworn at them on his way out the door, but it had been light hearted and he'd been happy, they had always joked. But now, Sirius thought, as he watched Harry babbling away to his teddy, he understood exactly why James had been so keen to get home, because he couldn't bear to be apart from this beautiful little boy who made everything worthwhile. He scooped the toddler up into his arms again and Harry squealed gleefully. This was how he was going to cope, Sirius thought, one day at time, he was going to do this one day at a time, for Lily, for James, for Harry.

**A/N: I know some of what Remus said, the woman joining him in bed thing, might seem a little out of character, but Remus is only twenty one in this, and he hasn't spent twelve years thinking one of his best friends responsible for the deaths of the others, as such, he's considerably more of a cheerful person.**

**I still adore reviews. They are like oxygen, and if I don't have oxygen I shall no longer be able to write, which if you like this fic would be a shame, so please review so I can continue to update. And breathe.**

**This is the ninth chapter, I'd like to have a couple more chapters with Harry being a toddler, unless you're sick of toddler Harry and want him to start growing up, so if there's anything else you want to see then let me know in a review or PM me!**


	10. Breakfast With Harry

**A/N: Harry's a little bit older! Well, four years older to be precise! I have absolutely no idea what month it is but I do have an idea that has been part of the plan since the start which I shall probably implement in the next chapter.**

**Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter, I really appreciated it. **

Sirius moved to sit up and felt something on his chest, looking down he smiled when he saw it was Harry, his arm flung across his godfather, his head lying against him. Slipping away, careful not to wake the sleeping five year old, Sirius began to dress. Harry more often than not got into bed with Sirius during the night, when Sirius asked him why, Harry always said he was just checking his godfather was still there. The small boy open his eyes and looked up from the centre of the bed. He looked tiny in comparison to the huge king size and let out a yawn, cuddling into Sirius' pillow. "It's early."

"It's nine o'clock. Uncle Moony will have had breakfast by now and we'll be in trouble if we're still in bed when he comes to say hello, come on, up you get." Harry did as he was told and clambered out of Sirius' bed, but as soon as his godfather's back was turned he crawled into the inviting sheets of his own, smaller bed.

They still had the same bedroom but it had changed somewhat in the past four years. The walls were now littered with pictures Harry had drawn and posters of racing brooms and Puddlemere United players. At the end of Harry's bed lay his old rabbit, plus a model stag and a toy dog. All three of which Harry insisted he couldn't sleep without and had to have positioned just where he wanted them before he'd go to sleep.

Sirius laughed when he saw him and lifted him from the bed, sitting him down gently on an arm chair, where he proceeded to curl up and close his eyes. His hair was an unruly mop, Remus occasionally reminded Sirius to comb it, but aside from that it was left to its own devices, it fell down into his eyes which served to cover up his scar, meaning that on the rare occasions they visited the outside world no one would notice Harry, it allowed a little protection, allowed Sirius to keep Harry innocent that little bit longer.

It wasn't that he had never asked after his parents, of course he had, and he knew that they were gone. They had visited their grave and the understood that he wouldn't see them again, but he didn't know the whole story, that they had been murdered, that Harry had survived the same attack. They had agreed to tell him when he was older, when it would be easier for him to understand. Although Sirius doubted Harry would ever be able to understand, ever be able to comprehend why anyone would kill his parents, how anyone could turn a killing curse on a baby, Sirius himself couldn't understand it, so how this small, innocent child ever could was beyond him.

Suddenly Sirius was snapped out of his thoughts by a tiny hand tugging on his trouser leg, looking down he saw Harry had risen from the chair. He brushed his hair from his eyes, they were the exact same shade of green as Lily's had been and Sirius saw her in his godson every time he looked at him. "Lift me up?" He asked, holding his arms out, he looked so desperate for affection that Sirius couldn't resist scooping him up into his arms and hugging him close. He wasn't unloved, Sirius had made sure of that, he doted on him and so did Remus, but he still craved affection and attention, he was always asking for cuddles and hated to be alone. The only five year old Sirius had ever had any real contact with was his brother, and as he had been six at the time he had no idea whether it was normal for small children to be this clingy, but he knew that as long as Harry wanted kisses and cuddles and attention he would give him them. After a while Harry wriggled to be put down & walked over to a small table beside their window, where breakfast was waiting for him. He clambered onto his chair and looked at his godfather expectantly. "Sirius, it's breakfast time!"

Laughing, Sirius joined Harry and tucked into his meal, whilst the small boy stared longingly out the window, and not for the first time, Sirius felt guilty that Harry was confined to this tower, in the summer, when all the students were gone, they would have the run of the castle, they would spend long days beside the lake, playing catch with an old quaffle that had once belonged to James, they would fly around the quidditch pitch, Harry on the front of Sirius' broom, holding on tight while Remus yelled for them not to fly too fast, they would race up and down the corridors and lounge on comfy sofas in the Gryffindor common room playing exploding snap, which Harry always won. But eventually term would start and they'd be stuck back up here, only to leave at Christmas, which they would spend at Remus' home, a small cottage in the middle of nowhere. Harry loved Christmas, and Sirius knew he was looking forward to it, but right now, he thought as he watched the small boy stare out the window, Harry was just looking forward to getting to go outside.

"Sirius?" He asked, propping his head up on his hand, elbow resting dangerously close to the butter dish.

"Mmhmm?" Sirius answered, mouthful of toast.

"Can I go outside and play?" Sirius shook his head and swallowed.

"Sorry mate, we can't go outside." Harry looked miserable and walked back to his bed, sitting on it he picked up James' quaffle and ran his fingers around the edges of it sadly. Sirius stood to console him just as Remus walked in, stealing a sausage casually from Sirius' plate. "Oi!"

This at least seemed to please Harry, who giggled, although he didn't raise his head. Remus walked over to him and sat on the bed, ruffling his dark hair. "Want to help me steal the rest of Sirius' breakfast?"

"Nope." He threw the quaffle to the floor and lay on the bed, his head resting against Remus softly. "I want to go outside and play."

"Oh."

"Sirius won't let me." He scowled at his godfather and Remus laughed, he was normally the one who received Harry's scowls; Sirius could do no wrong. Whilst Remus would tell Harry that he couldn't have a box of fireworks, or that he didn't need his own golden snitch, Sirius could never say no, whether it was a pet newt (like most of Harry's toys and pets, the newt was called Prongs), a king sized box of chocolate frogs, or the latest Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle comic, which Sirius would then have to read to him. It wasn't that Harry was a spoilt child, nor did he ask for new things often, it was just that if he even looked as though he might like something Sirius would be whipping out his money bag to pay for it. As such, their room was filled with various toys that belonged to Harry, none of them were wasted, Harry played with every single one, and got the full enjoyment out of each of them. He was a happy child, Sirius had made sure of that, and if Harry needed disciplining for one reason or another, Sirius would delegate the honour to Remus. As such, it was only on a very rare occasion that Moony was the good guy and Sirius the bad one.

"Well, Sirius isn't allowed outside to play either, Harry."

"But I want to go outside, _please_? I'll be good!"

"I'm sure you will, Harry, but you're just not allowed. I promise at Christmas we'll build a big bonfire and we can sit outside with it, how's that?"

"Can I bring Prongs?" Remus just nodded, although he was slightly worried it would be Prongs the newt, or Prongs the owl, rather than the model stag which Harry now had in his hand. "I can stay here then."

"Yes. And you can make sure Sirius behaves himself."

"I always behave myself." Remus chuckled, Harry giggled and walked over to his godfather, climbing onto his lap.

"I'll look after him." Harry said, grinning cheekily.

**A/N: Not sure about Harry's speech, I know a lot of seven year olds and I've tried to cast back to what they could say when they were five, I do remember them being very talkative so I hope that's okay, but anyone who knows five year olds better than I do, if he's saying too much let me know!**

**Reviews are, once again, appreciated. Reviewers can join Remus and Sirius for breakfast!**


	11. Moving On

**A/N: Thank you to **_**everyone**_** who read and reviewed the last chapter, really appreciate it!**

Harry sat on the floor of Dumbledore's office with Bobbin the house elf, he was still very attached to him and the house elf visited daily. They were playing exploding snap whilst Sirius sat at the headmaster's desk, waiting to find out why he had been summoned to his office. They had had a visit from Prongs the owl shortly after breakfast, he flew through the window and circled the room excitedly before landing on the window ledge, he had had two letters, one to Harry from Hagrid, which Sirius had read aloud, thanking him for a picture he had drawn him, Hagrid's hut was filled with pictures the small boy had drawn, whilst Remus preferred to keep his together in a book, the second letter was the reason Sirius was sat here, it was from Dumbledore and requested Sirius' company almost immediately.

He watched Harry and the house elf, smiling, and barely noticed Dumbledore enter. The elderly man sat in his seat opposite Sirius and smiled. "Glad you could make it, Mr Black."

"It's not like I had anything better to be doing." He knew he sounded bitter, despite his intention not to be.

"Yes, well, perhaps you will shortly, or at least, you will have the freedom to do as you wish."

"Professor?" Sirius couldn't get out of the habit of calling Dumbledore by this title, Remus had began to call him Albus but Sirius could only ever see him as his headmaster, the man who had sat at this desk with Sirius and James opposite on countless occasions, trying to persuade them to curb their misbehaviour, before calmly offering them a lemon drop or something similar.

"I need to discuss with you a matter concerning your mother's death."

"She's been dead a year, I didn't care then and I don't care now." His voice was low, he didn't want Harry to hear him saying things like that, his mother had been alive and he had chosen not to contact her, even when he knew she was dying, Harry had lost his mother through no fault of his own, and although very young, Sirius was sure he would not be able to understand why Sirius would turn his back on a mother he had the chance to love. But that was just the point, Sirius hadn't loved his mother, not for many years, he had grown to hate her and his heart had grown cold where his family were concerned. The Potters became his family, he had grieved for James' parents, but never for his own, and when his mother had died he had felt no heartache, he had not attended her funeral, nor had he contacted any of his cousins to enquire how it went. The only member of his family he was still in contact with was his cousin, Andromeda, who like Sirius had been disowned by the family they had both grown to detest. Even they weren't as close as they had once been, she was a good few years older than Sirius and married with a daughter, whom Sirius had only met once, shortly after her birth. He had almost dropped her and Andromeda had joked that Sirius, who at the time was just thirteen, wasn't father material. He wondered now if she had been right, but as he looked over at Harry, he was certain he wasn't doing a bad job.

"I spoke with a ministry official yesterday who was curious to find out if there was any particular reason you had not laid claim to your estate, he was enquiring if I knew where to find you."

"What estate?" Sirius laughed sardonically, his parents had disowned him when he was sixteen, he had run away from their pure blood mania and their medieval ideals and had been burnt from the family tree, his younger brother had been instructed never to speak to him in school and further confirmation to his family's hatred of him came when his uncle Alphard gave him a large sum of money and was disowned. There was no way his parents hadn't disinherited him, they made it perfectly clear he was no son of theirs.

"Number twelve Grimmauld Place, the contents of Gringotts vaults numbers 322 and 615 and a house elf which goes by the name of Kreacher." Dumbledore read from an official looking document in front of him. "Your father's will." He added, by way of explanation.

"What? What does it say?"

"The property of number twelve Grimmauld Place, the house elf, Kreacher, and the contents of Gringotts vault number 322 are to be bequeathed to Regulus _Arcturus_ Black-"

"Well that's not me, is it?"

"Please, Mr Black, allow me to continue." Dumbledore smiled. "In the event that Regulus dies leaving no heir this inheritance is to pass to my eldest son, Sirius Orion Black."

"What?!" Sirius was astounded. He had never expected to inherit a thing, he was certain his father had despised him as much as his mother had.

"Your father died before your brother, did he not?"

"Yeah, months apart." Sirius mumbled, still shocked by the news.

"I do believe your mother saw that Regulus had inherited, as the eldest Black male not to be disinherited and did not think to read further, upon Regulus' death I suspect your mother felt it would be within her best interests for the next heir to the fortune not to be sought, as she would lose all she controlled, being that everything was left to Regulus and not your mother. Old traditions die hard, after all, Mr Black."

"And then she died and someone thought they ought to check who was next?"

"It was assumed the fortune belonged to the eldest male descendant, the next in line, as is the way. That would be young Master Draco Malfoy, your cousin's son."

"Narcissa's boy?"

"Yes. Around Harry's age, I do believe. Lucius Malfoy kicked up quite a fuss, determined to get his hands on the gold that he felt was rightfully Draco's. But Gringotts goblins are very thorough and would not allow access to your father's vault to anyone but yourself. On closer inspection they discovered that your father had, indeed, kept you in line for the inheritance, although I suspect he assumed your brother would have children of his own to pass the fortune onto, I do believe he hoped your mother would never find out." It was all too much for Sirius, his father hadn't hated him after all? There was still some affection for his eldest son, somewhere, deep down? He wasn't sure what he was feeling, his heart felt like lead.

"Do I have to accept it?"

"It would be in Harry's best interests, your father's house was entirely undiscoverable, still would be I imagine, it would be a very safe place for Harry to grow up in, and he would have much more freedom than he has at Hogwarts, you both would. All of Voldemort's supporters have been rounded up, and this was never meant to be a permanent solution. Of course, I am not forcing you to leave, but I do hope you will consider moving to your family home, this castle is not an environment for a small boy to grow up in, after all."

"I did all my growing up here." It was barely more than a whisper, and the pain at the memories was still notable in Sirius' voice.

"When the time was right. And when the time is right Harry will grow from a boy to a man in this school, just as you did, just as his father did." Dumbledore smiled at him through wise eyes and Sirius nodded, rising to his feet and thanking the headmaster.

Hours later, back in their bedroom, as Sirius watched Harry drawing in the corner, he thought about leaving this place, returning to his childhood home, he hadn't been happy there, would Harry be? Could he raise Harry away from Hogwarts, without Remus' support? Without help on hand whenever they needed it? Could he give Harry a happy childhood in a world so far removed from Hogwarts? He wrestled with his conscience, fighting, as he seemed to have been doing for far too long, to choose between what was easy and what was right, unsure what was right after all, if Harry would be happier there. True, he would be able to go wherever he wanted, he could have his own bedroom, several flights of stairs to run up and down at will, he would be granted the freedom that the summer months gave him all year round, but was it what was best for Harry? He sighed, this was going to be a very difficult decision.

Remus brought him out of his thoughts by walking into the room and flopping down in an arm chair cheerily. "Hello Padfoot, what a day it's been!" He sighed overdramatically. "One of my second years sent a Grindylow tank flying, managed to get it all sorted without too much damage but the poor girl couldn't stop apologising, she's very sweet but I don't think I've ever had a student so clumsy. Padfoot? Are you alive?" Sirius blinked apologetically.

"Sorry, I've just… had some news."

"News?" Sirius told Remus about his inheritance, and Dumbledore's suggestion that he take Harry to Grimmauld Place. Remus' expression was difficult to judge and he looked over at Harry sadly. "I'll miss him if you go, you too, of course, I've gotten quite used to seeing you both every day, it's like being part of a family, but," he paused, "you can't be cooped up here forever, and maybe it would be for the best."

"You are our family, Remus, always will be." He turned to look at his godson. "Hey, titch, come here."

"Not titch." Harry looked up, indignant.

"Okay then, shorty, we need to talk to you." Harry walked over and it seemed Sirius was still being the bad guy because it was Remus' knee Harry scrambled on to and Remus' shoulder he rested his head against.

"I beed good Uncle Moony. I pwomise."

"I'm sure you did Harry, have you had a nice day?" Harry nodded.

"I played expoding snap ALL day!"

"Really? Did you win?" Harry nodded again, grinning. Sirius mumbled something about letting him win and then smiled at Harry fatherly.

"Harry, how would you like to move?"

"Comfy here." Both Sirius and Remus laughed, the small boy looked confused.

"No, I mean move house. Live somewhere else."

"Not here?"

"No, not here." Harry looked as though he was in deep thought and waited several minutes before answering.

"Could I take Prongs?"

"Of course." Remus said, reaching over to the coffee table where Prongs the model stag lay, and handing it to Harry, who hugged it close. He then climbed over to Sirius' lap resting his head underneath his godfather's chin, which was his favourite place to hide if he wasn't sure about anything, he buried his head in Sirius' chest, hugging him closely. No one spoke for quite some time, until Harry looked up.

"You not want me?" The pain was evident in the small child's face and Sirius, wondering whatever could have given him that idea, had the sudden urge to hug him as tight as was humanly possible and never let go.

"Of course we want you, you're our favourite Harry!"

"Sirius would be moving with you, Harry, you'd live together at Sirius' house."

"Uncle Moony not come?"

"I would come and stay at Christmas and in the Summer." Remus said, he had no intention of asking for an invitation, if Sirius had meant it when he said Remus was part of their family then he wouldn't need to be invited.

"But you not move too?"

"Well, I live here while I work here." Harry looked puzzled.

"Don't work here then." He said, as though it was the answer to all of their problems. Remus smiled sadly and took Harry from Sirius, hugging him gently. Sirius watched, worried that being parted from his Uncle Moony would upset Harry far too much.

"I have to work but I would visit all the time, and do you know what the best bit is?" Harry shook his head. "You could go outside and play whenever you wanted to." Harry looked tempted and nodded slowly.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Only if Prongs comes." He climbed of Remus' lap and went back to his drawing as though the conversation had never taken place. Sirius smiled over at his godson, who, he decided, was his favourite person in the world, he was such a wonderful child and his outlook on life, his character and the amount of love he had to give the world made him so special that Sirius couldn't imagine ever wanting to be parted from him. He thought that he might, in fact, not let Harry go to Hogwarts as a student, just so that he could see him every day. He laughed at what Remus' reaction to the sacrifice of an education might be and then continued to smile to himself. He had grown closer to Harry than he could ever have imagined and understood now, more than he had ever done, while James and Lily had gladly laid down their lives for their child, because he knew he would do the same. He would do anything for Harry. Even move back into _that_ house.

**A/N: Anyone fancy a guess at who Remus' clumsy student is? **

**That's quite a long chapter for me, but think of it as a present seeing as on Thursday I'm moving into my halls of residence at uni and my updates may become less frequent for a few weeks!**

**Hope everyone likes little Harry. This idea had been planned since the start so I'm very much hoping it goes down well!**

**Reviewers can help the marauders move! And may be rewarded with thank you kisses! (From Sirius and Remus, of course)**


	12. Grimmauld Place

**A/N: I'm absolutely astounded at the number of reviews I've received and the number of people adding story alerts for this fic & adding it to their favourites, I never expected more than a few people to read it so I'm totally ecstatic, thank you all, very, very much!**

Sirius opted to take Harry to Grimmauld Place by muggle transport, he had hired cleaners, as it seemed Kreacher hadn't cleaned a thing since Sirius' mother had died, and hoped that it would now not only be fit for human habitation, but also a suitable environment to raise a child in. He had also insisted that everything be repainted before they moved in, as such it was early December by the time they moved, after being driven to the nearest muggle train station to Hogwarts they had travelled by train all the way to King's Cross. It had taken several hours and when they arrived in London Harry was fast asleep. Sirius struggled to carry both his godson and their suitcases, but it wasn't a long walk and he found himself in his childhood home before long. He barely recognised it, the hallway was as dimly lit as ever, but the walls were cream rather than black and the house looked much more inviting that he ever remembered it being, he lay Harry on the sofa and explored the house.

It had all been painted in light colours, to contrast its previous state, each of the rooms seemed to have been refurbished, he had asked Remus to make all the décor decisions and they'd left it up to the decorators to do the work, he had all but emptied the contents of his brother's Gringotts vault, but it was worth it, there were two rooms that hadn't changed; his bedroom, and Regulus'. He was glad nothing had been done with his childhood bedroom as he loved it the way it was and despite being twenty five now, not sixteen as he had been the last time he slept in there, he still wanted to keep it exactly the way it was. Regulus' bedroom, he decided, would remain untouched. When he reached the attic he found all manner of objects had been moved, including the heads of Black family house elves, which had once lined the walls of the house.

Smiling at the house's transformation he descended the narrow staircase leading from the attic and found Harry, half asleep and tearful, standing at the bottom. The small boy threw himself at Sirius' leg and it was a good few minutes before he managed to wrestle him away, lifting him up he smiled. "Shall we pick your bedroom?" Harry looked confused.

"My bedroom?"

"Yes, you can have your very own bedroom."

"Not with you?" Harry tipped his head to one side bemusedly and rested his head on Sirius' shoulder, unsure what to believe.

"No, not with me." He had thought Harry would be pleased at the prospect of having his own room to run riot in but he buried his head into his godfather's chest and cried. Sirius lowered him to the ground and kneeled down beside him, wiping his eyes, ignoring the sharp pain he felt in his heart as he was reminded, once again, of Lily. "What's wrong?"

"What if I have a bad dream?" He mumbled through his tears, sniffing occasionally and wiping his face with the sleeve his jumper.

"Then you can come into my bedroom. I promise to pick whichever one is next door to yours."

"Where does Uncle Moony sleep?"

"In his bed, I think." Harry giggled and shook his head at Sirius who laughed loudly and lifted Harry up again, amazed by this child, yet again. "He can pick a bedroom when he gets here."

"When's that?"

"Umm… ten sleeps."

"That's _forever_!" Laughing Sirius began to carry Harry from room to room, starting on the top floor and working his way down. Harry chose a bedroom on the second floor, there were three bedrooms on this floor and Harry had picked the central one, Sirius was fairly certain Harry would request Remus took the bedroom on the other side of his, once Harry had picked his bedroom, which was painted a pale green colour, he wriggled to be put down, racing around the room he jumped onto the bed. It was a double and Sirius wondered if he should transfigure it into a single, but Harry seemed perfectly happy with having a large bed and the room was spacious enough that he still had plenty space to run around. Most of their belongings had been sent down the day before and were in the living room, Sirius decided he would wait until morning before bringing Harry's toys upstairs and allowing him to give the room some character. He followed Harry down the stairs, and then back up, as he fetched his stuffed toys and his model stag, laying each of them on one pillow he sat on the bed beside them and flung his shoes off, the left one narrowly missing Sirius. Harry would make a good beater one day, Sirius thought to himself. Harry looked up at his godfather as though in deep thought, and it was several seconds before he spoke. "Sirius?" He had turned on the puppy dog eyes which Sirius found impossible to say no to and wondered what Harry was going to ask for.

"Yeah?"

"Can I draw on the walls?" Sirius laughed again. Normally any parent or guardian would be horrified at the thought, but Sirius wasn't a normal guardian, and this was Harry's room to do with what he liked. Plus, being a wizard, it would be perfectly simple for Sirius to remove anything Harry had drawn at a later date. He nodded and sat on the bed as his godson began to doodle on the fresh green wallpaper. He occasionally informed Sirius what his scribbles were meant to be. "That's you." He said, pointing to a blob that slightly resembled a person, albeit with an extremely oversized head. "That's Daddy's quaffle." He pointed to a large red circle he had drawn underneath the window. He continued like this for quite some time until the novelty wore off and he put his crayons down, yawning slightly. "Is it bedtime yet?"

After finding Harry's favourite pyjamas, Puddlemere United ones, Sirius got his godson ready for bed and tucked him in, after he had made Sirius promise that he would definitely be sleeping in the next bedroom Harry closed his eyes and was asleep in seconds, Sirius sat beside him for quite some time, how long he didn't know. He softly brushed Harry's hair from his face, then brushed it back when he saw the lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead, it was a painful reminder of all that had happened and he hated to think on it. Life was good, and for the most part, life was happy, there were horrors in their past that were almost unbearable to comprehend, but right now, life was happy, they had each other, they were untroubled for the most part, and although Harry had the occasional nightmare that he didn't really understand, he was a very happy child. Which made Sirius happier than he ever thought he would be.

He stood eventually, walking to his own room, and realised for the first time since he had entered the house, that he had absolutely no idea where Kreacher was, he had expected a tirade of insults upon arrival and was quite put out that he hadn't received any, he was almost looking forward to it, because as his new master, Sirius could, with a great amount of satisfaction, order him to shut up, and Kreacher couldn't disobey. He smirked at the thought and decided that he would hunt down the house elf in the morning.

**A/N: Idea suggestions always welcome! I want to keep on with the five year old Harry for a few chapters at least but I'm lacking on ideas and inspiration so any would be very welcome!**

**Reviews, as always, are very much appreciated. And come with a reward. Little Harry'll draw you onto his wall!**


	13. Nightmares Again

**A/N: Usual thanks to everyone who's reading & reviewing!**

**Nothing I can think of to add at the moment but yes, love reviews!**

It was two in the morning, the house was warm and Sirius' bed felt so comfortable that he never wanted to leave it, he was dreaming peacefully and it took him a moment or two to register why he had awoken so suddenly. Harry was screaming. He sprung from the bed and raced into his godson's bedroom, fearing for his safety.

Harry was, in fact, completely alone. He was sat in the middle of the large bed, staring ahead of him and screaming loudly, tears rolling down his little cheeks. Sirius sat beside him and pulled him into a fatherly hug, but Harry pushed him away. "Get off! Get off! Get off!"

"Harry, it's me…"

"I want my mummy!" He hit out at Sirius angrily and began to cry. Sirius could do nothing but watch, eventually Harry calmed slightly and clambered onto Sirius' lap, burying his head in his chest once again and sobbing quietly. He looked up at Sirius, his eyes still filled with tears. "I want my mummy." Sirius wished Remus was there more than ever before because he didn't know what to say to this little boy in his arms who had lost all but everything. He wondered if Lily and James' faces haunted Harry's dreams in the same way they did his.

"I know mate, I know." He rocked Harry gently, keeping him close, wanting to tell him everything was going to be okay. Harry's sobs subsided eventually and Sirius registered that the child was now sleeping. After some time he lay him back down on his bed, lying beside him he decided he wouldn't leave him again tonight. He stroked Harry's hair softly and wondered what exactly Harry's nightmare had consisted of, he knew the small boy had been in the room when his mother was killed, he had found Lily's body beside Harry's cot, he swallowed hard at the painful memory, finding Lily had broken his heart.

When he had arrived at Godric's Hollow and seen James' body his world collapsed beneath him, he had tried to wake James although he knew it was pointless, he had sat with his body, unsure what to do, he had flattened James' hair, feeling it was somehow important, and had straightened his glasses, as he did so he had remembered Lily and Harry and had raced up the stairs, hoping to find them both alive, that shred of hope had been all that had stopped him from breaking down and when he saw Lily lying there the tears had started.

Harry's own eyes were filled with tears and he was screaming his lungs out, it had been then that Sirius had scooped him up in his arms and, with one last look at the bodies of his two best friends, he had left the house. It was then that he had met Hagrid, after a brief argument Hagrid had softly consoled Sirius and allowed him to leave with Harry, who had fallen asleep seconds after his motorbike touched the ground outside the house they were now lying in.

Suddenly Harry awoke again, screaming once more, he stared straight through Sirius as he tried to calm him, at the moment another voice was added to the noise. Sirius had found Kreacher. "The brat is screaming! Shut the brat up!" He wandered into the room, his hands over his bad like ears. Sirius swore at him, but didn't receive the pleasure he had been so looking forward to, he was too preoccupied with his godson, who had climbed off the bed and charged at Kreacher, as though it was he who had tormented his sleep. Sirius grabbed Harry around the waist, lifting him into his arms and stroking his hair softly. "Sssh, come on, Harry, Harry you're with me, it's Sirius." Harry continued to scream. Kreacher continued to shout.

"The blood traitor's brat won't shut up! Shut him up! Quiet the brat!"

If Sirius thought the situation couldn't get any worse he was wrong. A shrill scream could be heard from the ground floor, followed by a voice he had hoped he would never have to hear again. A voice that chilled him to the bone. "Stain on the family name! Dirty disgrace! Out with it! Out with you! Blood traitor!" Sirius pretended not to hear his mother. He knew the portrait was there but had hoped it would remain silent. What wishful thinking that was. He carried Harry with one hand and half dragged Kreacher with the other as he made his way down the stairs, glaring at this mother's portrait. "Will you shut **up**?!" He let go of Kreacher, putting out a leg to stop him running away, and tugged at the curtains on Walburga Black's portrait. "I said shut up!"

At some point during all of this, Kreacher was still yelling, using a few choice words he had learnt from Sirius during his childhood, Harry stopped screaming and looked at the portrait. He had tear stained cheeks and there was a sadness in his sleepy eyes, as though he was unaware of the dream and the screaming. It was almost as though he had only just woken up. "Sirius, who's that?"

"No one, Harry, you go back to sleep."

"No one it says! Stain of dishonour. Who is the brat?"

"I'm Harry." The small boy said, tipping his head to one side. He had encountered various portraits at Hogwarts and always enjoyed talking to them, especially those in Dumbledore's office. He had spent one afternoon during the summer chasing a portrait of a knight called Sir Cadogan all around the castle. "Harry Potter."

"Potter! That boy! And where is the disgusting blood traitor? Hmm? Dead! Just like you should be." This was directed to Sirius and Harry just looked confused. Sirius placed a sleep Harry on the ground, who wrapped himself around Sirius' leg and watched as he forcibly pulled the curtains shut over his mother. A blood curdling scream followed.

"Well, that was interesting. Are you hungry Harry? It must be nearly breakfast time."

**A/N: Sorry for the shortness, I've had a mad couple of days but I really wanted to update, people keep knocking on the hall door though & my tea's stone cold, I don't think I'll ever finish a longer part! I'll try and update tomorrow.**

**Much love to you all! Please review, it'll make me very happy!**


	14. Heirlooms and Blenders

**A/N: Thanks for reading & reviewing! I'm hoping this part's slightly better than the last one!**

Sirius wrote to Remus first thing in the morning. They hadn't gone to bed, he had made Harry toast for breakfast, and had made a mental note to buy a cookbook, then they had played exploding snap until the sun began to rise. Harry, who had been insistent he wasn't tired, had asked to go out and play, Sirius, however, could tell that he was dead on his feet and told him they would go out after lunch. They had spent an hour or so playing catch in the drawing room with James' quaffle, destroying a number of Black family heirlooms. Sirius had thoroughly enjoyed the experience, although Kreacher had appeared every time something was smashed and burst into tears. Eventually Sirius had sent the house elf upstairs, telling him they didn't want to be disturbed. Harry had sat down at a large desk in the corner of the room whilst Sirius went to get them something to drink, and when his godfather returned the small boy had fallen asleep, his head resting on the dark wooden bureau in front of him.

Sirius had waited impatiently for Remus' reply, he had put Harry to bed and had been wandering around the house aimlessly since sending Prongs the owl out with the letter. He had found Kreacher in what had been his mother's bedroom, lying under the bed and mumbling insults. Sirius had pulled him out by his leg and told him to stay out of the bedrooms. He wished he could get rid of him, and in fact he probably could have, were it not that Kreacher would probably die of shock at the presentation of clothes, he would have handed them to him the second he arrived. He thought perhaps one day he might find some use for him, maybe having Harry about would soften him slightly. Although he severely doubted it; Kreacher had been just as vile when Sirius was a child.

Suddenly there was a loud bang from downstairs, followed by his mother's screams. Sirius raced down the staircases, two steps at a time, and jumped over the balcony at the bottom, forcing the curtain across his mother as quickly as possible, desperate not to wake Harry. When the portrait had silenced he looked around to see what had caused the noise. He jumped when he heard a voice behind him.

"Is he okay Padfoot?"

"Moony! You scared the life out of me!"

"I don't think I did, Sirius, you're still here. Still ugly as ever."

"Looked in a mirror lately have you, Mr Moony?"

"Not quite as often as you, Mr Padfoot." Sirius laughed. They had taunted him at school for his vanity. He was so carelessly handsome that he couldn't help knowing it, and as a teenager his head often needed deflating. James, of course, was just as bad, but even he didn't spend hours in front of the mirror, nor did he take over half an hour to choose what clothes to wear **under** his robes on weekends.

Remus, who had never been remotely vain, continued to tease Sirius now, even though his obsession with his appearance had faded. He still looked handsome with little or no effort, but it didn't matter to him as much any more. His eyes still bore the darkness they had four years ago, giving the impression they belonged to a man much older than Sirius' twenty five years, his hair was slightly longer than it had been when he was younger, it had been cropped short for many years but was now far past his ears, Sirius found little time to concentrate on his appearance with a five year old running round, he often said it was like having a blender without a lid. Remus always laughed at this, it brought back memories.

The marauders had visited Remus in the summer after their fourth year, and as his mother was a muggle the house was filled with muggle appliances, all of which his friends found fascinating. Sirius and James had particularly loved the blender, the concept of which they described as nothing less than _brilliant_, and had, just to see what would happen, filled it with strawberries and turned it on without the lid. Needless to say Remus' mother wasn't best pleased and the marauders were never invited to stay again. "So, is he okay?"

"What're you doing here?"

"I got your owl. I shouldn't have let you leave until Christmas, I should have known Harry wouldn't settle. Now answer me."

"He's fine. He's asleep." Remus nodded at sat on a large armchair beside the fire. His gaze drifting towards the hearth, where ash and soot were covering a light coloured rug, Remus had obviously travelled by floo powder. This was not, Sirius knew, Remus' favourite way to travel either, although he found it considerably more bearable than Sirius, and certainly more so than Harry, who despised it so much that he would begin to cry if they so much as mentioned the idea. "Don't worry about it Moony. I'll clean it later."

"I'll do it. I'm staying. For Christmas. Term's almost over, Dumbledore said I could go early, the full moon's just after Christmas so I won't be taking any time off then…" Sirius grinned, although he knew Remus shouldn't really abandon his job, or his students, he knew how much having him here would mean to Harry, and he also knew that it would make his life altogether easier.

"Harry'll be ecstatic. I'm taking him to a park later, do you want to come?"

"And watch you two chuck that quaffle around all afternoon? I think I'll stay here." Sirius laughed. Remus had always disliked it quidditch. Or rather, he had disliked his friends' obsessions with it. Peter was obsessed with anything James and Sirius were and James was quidditch match. Sirius himself was a huge fan, and loved to play, but he always said he couldn't be bothered to try out for the team, and that the scarlet robes the Gryffindor team played in wouldn't look good on him. He had, in fact, preferred to watch, preferred to be the one the girls crowded round to ask what was going on during a match. Remus, however, would spend most of the matches with his head buried in a book, only looking up when the crowd cheered. Afterwards he would, of course, tell James that yes, he had seen that spectacular shot into the central hoop from the other side of the pitch and yes, he had caught his amazing one handed whack of the quaffle which sent the ball flying past Michael Avery's ear and into the goal, but Sirius was sure James knew Remus hadn't paid any attention, and just asked him questions to torture him.

"I thought I'd take him to a play park actually, there used to be one nearby. Swings and stuff. He'll enjoy it." Remus didn't get a chance to answer however because a human tornado came flying through the living room door and threw itself at Remus, jumping up on the arm chair and hugging him tightly. "Uncle Moony! Uncle Moony! Uncle Moony's here!"

**A/N: Another shortish one, sorry, I had an idea but if I put it on the end of this one it'll be **_**really**_** long, so I've decided to put it in two separate chapters instead and I'll update with that shortly!**

**Reviewers can jump on Remus if they like…**


	15. Swings and Roundabouts

**A/N: As always, thank you very much for reading & reviewing!**

Harry hadn't wanted to let Remus out of his side and had gripped onto his hand all the way to the park, Sirius had walked alongside them with his hands shoved idly in his pockets, contemplating family life. They had wrapped Harry up in a large coat, Gryffindor scarf, and a woolly hat and gloves, before they had left the house to walk out into the winter air, he had felt very paternal as they made sure the five year old would stay snug and warm during their outing. He wondered, as he looked at little Harry, who was telling Remus all about the latest adventure of Martin Miggs, if he would ever have a child of his own. He doubted it, that would require both finding a woman and remaining committed to her, and Sirius just wasn't that kind of man. Had James not died he doubted he would ever have taken on a position of responsibility. James was the family man, and Remus was the father figure, he was always the voice of reason, and Harry continued to cling to him until he saw the park, pulling his hand from Remus' he ran, full pelt, through the wooden gate, kicking up woodchips as he raced towards a slide. Sirius laughed as the small boy waved at him, and joined Remus on a bench, surveying the area whilst Remus kept a watchful eye on Harry.

His eyes met those of a woman around his own age, she was strikingly beautiful and smiled at him, moving from her own bench to sit beside him. "Moony, shove off." Sirius muttered.

"What?"

"Shove off."

"Padfoot-" Sirius just look at him and, after rolling his eyes, Remus walked over to wear Harry was now clambering up the slide once again. The woman smiled and held out a hand, introducing herself as Jessica. After shaking her hand, Sirius introduced himself, taking in her features. It had been a long time since he had looked at a woman properly, he had had very few encounters with females between the age of eighteen and forty five since he had been looking after Harry. Not that he had hugely minded, after all, his godson was far more important than his love life. Still, it didn't hurt to have someone to look at once in a while.

They didn't speak at first, just sat in a companionable silence, watching their children. Harry was now on a roundabout, Remus whizzing it around as fast as he could. Harry roared with laughter and waved at Sirius excitedly. "If he throws up you're cleaning him up, Moony!" Sirius called. Harry laughed louder, but Remus slowed his pace slightly. Jessica smiled again.

"Your boyfriend's very good with children, isn't he?" She commented as her own child joined Harry on the roundabout excitedly. Sirius froze, staring at her in shock, unsure whether she had really said those words. He wasn't gay, and he was pretty sure he didn't come across as gay in the slightest. As far as he knew, Remus wasn't gay either, they had never been void of female attention, how could anyone possibly think that they were a gay couple?

"My…my…what?!"

"Your…oh, is he not your boyfriend?"

"No! I'm not gay!" Remus' head span around at Sirius' words, slowing the roundabout slightly he listened intently but nothing was said, Jessica had blushed red and looked incredibly embarrassed and apologetic. Sirius looked astounded. He walked over to them solemnly and took over on the roundabout. He had a lot more energy than Remus, always had done, and could make the roundabout go considerably faster.

He smiled at Harry's gleeful yells as the roundabout span. He had always loved the idea of roundabouts as a child, although his mother had never allowed him to play on them, they were, after all, only found in muggle playgrounds. But he had longed to play on one each time they had walked past children spinning around energetically. The idea of spinning so fast and being unable to stop had fascinated Sirius, he would spend hours in his bedroom just spinning around until he felt so dizzy he could barely stand, then he would lie on the floor and watched the world rotate above his head.

Sometimes, he thought, he missed those days, that childhood innocence. Sometimes it felt as though those things had happened to someone else, it was all so long ago, surely he could never have craved the affection of the woman he had grown to loath? Surely he could never have been ignorant as to the horror and evil of the Black family ideals? Surely he could never have thought there might be something appealing in the dark arts? Because he hadn't been innocent in that respect, he hadn't always thought the way he did now. As a child, before life took away the innocence that had given him rose coloured glasses, he had thought the jinxes and hexes their parents took care to let them see to be amazing, he had not seen the dark side of his parents' obsession with pureblood, the equation of the Black family to royalty. But things had changed, now he understood, now he despised all they had stood for, that which had caused Harry's parents to lose their lives, caused Sirius to lose his best friend, that which had taken away part of his soul.

Suddenly he realised he had stopped moving, the roundabout had come to halt and Harry looked up at him expectantly. Laughing, and shaking off the thoughts that threatened to haunt him, he took hold of the handle tightly and raced at full speed around, letting go and telling Harry to hold on tight, he watched it spin and lay beside his godson when it stopped, watching the world spin above them.

After an hour or so Harry had worn himself out and they left the park, making their way back towards Grimmauld Place, Sirius held out his hand for Harry, whilst Remus, this time, shoved his hands into his pockets. He looked tired, Sirius had noticed, and wondered if he had difficulty sleeping the night before, without them close by. "Harry, can you hold my hand please?" Harry didn't move. "Harry, it's a big road, hold my hand."

"But Sirius-"

"Harry, come on."

"But Sirius that lady's staring at me."

"What lady?" He reached inside his jacket for his wand, he saw Remus doing the same, Harry pointed back towards the park, where a tall thin woman was trying to keep a hold of what looked to be a large ball, but on closer inspection would have turned out to be a very large, very round, five year old. The woman seemed to be unsure whether or not to approach them, and the small boy beside her seemed adamant that she wouldn't. She was staring right at little Harry and suddenly stepped towards them. Sirius glanced at Remus, unsure what to do. He recognised this woman, although he hadn't seen her since Lily's funeral, and he wasn't sure he wanted her in Harry's life, especially as he feared she may express some desire to take his godson from him, as though his actions were subconsciously reflecting his unspoken fears, he lifted Harry into his arms.

"Hello." She said. Her voice was sharp and the ball shaped boy was pulling hard on her arm, trying to drag her back towards the park. It was obvious she intended to make this discussion brief. Sirius found himself tightening his grip on Harry, he was determined she wouldn't take him. Sirius realised he still hadn't responded, but Remus seemed to be one step ahead.

"Hello. Petunia isn't it?"

"Yes. And you are?"

"Remus Lupin, we met at your sister's engagement party." Lily's parents had both still been alive when James had proposed, and Petunia had been unable to come up with an excuse which would satisfy her mother, as such, she had somewhat reluctantly found herself at the party, being introduced to a variety of people she had no desire to be within fifty miles of.

"Yes, well, that was a very long time ago. Is that her child?"

"Yes, he is." Sirius said, unable to soften his tone.

"Looks like that boy." She regarded Sirius for a moment. "You, I recognise, you're _his_ brother aren't you?" Sirius said nothing, thinking back Lily and James' engagement party. He could remember very little, except being very, very drunk. He had a vague recollection of trying to seduce four of Lily's cousins, but could remember no encounters with Petunia. He simply nodded. When Lily had introduced her family to James' he had been with them, it had been assumed that Sirius was his brother and they saw little point in denying it, James had told him he quite liked the idea.

"Well, it's…nice…to know he's still…alive."

"Is it really? I'd have thought it'd be something you'd be keen to find out, you know, your only sister's child, I'd have thought you'd been to keen to keep in contact with him, make sure he was doing okay." Sirius had no idea why he said the words, he had known the Lily and Petunia had been estranged when she had died, Petunia had evaded the wedding, their mother had been ill by then and hadn't the energy to argue. She had passed away shortly after, as though she had been holding on until the wedding had past, and Sirius remembered James saying Petunia hadn't been at the funeral, Lily had been quite upset about it at the time, he knew, without Petunia saying it, that she had no desire to get to know her sister's offspring, but he seemed to have lost control of his mouth.

"There is absolutely no need for that. He is, after all, a…." She looked around, as though checking anyone was listening. "A…you know what."

"No, I don't. Enlighten me."

"One of _you._"

"Oh, a wizard you mean. Yes, yes he is." He quite enjoyed watching the colour drain from Petunia's face, her expression of fear. He laughed as she pulled the child away, hoping no one had been within earshot, glaring at Sirius as though he had revealed her most embarrassing moment to the entire street. Sirius then returned Harry to the ground, taking his hand and leading him home, thinking, as he watched Petunia struggle with Dudley, that he was very lucky indeed that his godson was such a charming child.

**A/N: Hmm, not sure I like that, but hopefully you will. I'll be skipping to Christmas soon, possibly in the next chapter, if not the one after!**

**Now, what can I bribe reviewers with today…how about a turn on a roundabout with Mr Black? **


	16. Christmas Crackers

**A/N: Sorry for the delay on this part, I've been dealing with tiredness/homesickness/lack of money and I haven't been able to concentrate but I'm now awake, and more settled, and slightly less poor! So, I produced this…**

**Thanks for reading & reviewing everyone!**

Christmas was fast approaching, the house had been fully decorated and Harry had, much to Sirius' amazement, coaxed Kreacher into wearing a Santa hat. The elf had become somewhat nicer to the small boy over the past week, since Harry had asked him, very kindly, and very seriously, what he would like for Christmas, although he still detested Sirius and made no secret of it.

Remus returned from Diagon Alley two days before Christmas to find Harry and Sirius standing in the doorway of the living room, matching grins on their faces. He looked at them, intrigued, and they burst into song, bellowing God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs at the top of their voices. Remus chuckled and gently shoved his way past Sirius into the living room, collapsing on a soft armchair he watched, laughter in his eyes, as they continued to serenade him with the Christmas carol. Harry crossed the room and clambered onto Remus' lap. "Sing Uncle Moony!" He laughed. "God rest ye merry hippogriffs, let nothing you dismay! Remember, the great phoenix will fly on Christmas day!"

"I'll sing later Harry, once Sirius has gotten me a hot chocolate."

"Once I've what?"

"It is Christmas, Padfoot." Shaking his head, Sirius made his way towards the kitchen, as he walked down the hallway he could hear Harry strike up a chorus of jingle bells, his little voice half singing, half shouting, by the time Sirius reached the kitchen he could hear him yelling "oh what fun it is to fly on a Hippogriff all day!" He couldn't remember ever having looked forward to Christmas so much, although every Christmas with Harry had been fun, this one seemed somehow more so, possibly because they were settled here, they hadn't just returned, or possibly because the older Harry got, the more he understood Christmas. Either way, he knew that he couldn't way for the day to arrive, just to see his godson's face light up when he opened his presents, to listen, eyes closed, to Remus' Christmas stories, to curl up in front of the fire, while they listened to Christmas carols on the radio and Harry fell asleep in his arms. There was something about Christmas that stretched further than magic itself.

He poured two cups of hot chocolate and a milkshake for Harry and carried them through to the living room, handing the drinks out. Harry was now sat on the floor and counting out crackers for Remus. Harry hadn't quite learnt his numbers yet, however, and lost count after laying out eleven of the twenty four crackers Sirius had purchased earlier that week.

"Why did you buy so many? There's only three of us."

"Today. Andromeda's coming round on boxing day. Besides, it means we can open them every day. I like crackers."

"I know." Remus laughed. They had this discussion every year, but it was true, Sirius adored Christmas crackers, Remus had learnt that well enough over seven years at Hogwarts, Sirius never wanted to go home and his friends weren't going to leave him alone, not at Christmas. The marauders usually had the run of the castle, most students returned home for the holidays and it was very rare that such a large group of friends would stay. They had spent every Christmas since they had left Hogwarts together, too. Before Lily and James had died they were always spent in their house, because, the marauders had decided, Lily made the best Christmas dinner. She had gladly cooked for them all, called them her boys. Remus smiled sadly at the memory, Lily had always mothered them all, even James, who had taken offence to it more than once. Sirius always played upon and tried to get her to do his washing. Peter would gladly accept weekly meals, whilst Remus himself always felt guilty, he had never had anything to offer to them; Sirius and Peter would always bring round steaks, or a bottle of elf made wine, Remus could never afford to, and even if he could have, James would never have stood for it. So he avoided coming round. He smiled at the memories of Lily's made up special occasions, anything to force him to join them.

He glanced across at Sirius, who was now counting out the crackers himself, and smiled, Christmas always brought that little bit of nostalgia, but if he was spending it with Harry and Sirius, it was like having a real family again, he mused over the possibilities of Sirius' Christmas present, last year he had given him a calendar with semi naked muggle women on. Remus had thrown it back at him and had received his real present; a set of books, which Remus had concluded was unusually thoughtful. But he was certain that nothing would have changed this year, and that Sirius would be giving him a joke present.

Sirius, who had made a pyramid out of the crackers, which Harry was now attempting to blow down, regarded Remus for a moment, and decided that Christmas really wouldn't be Christmas without him here. He smiled up at him, a true, honest smile. With Christmas came memories and each year the distance between the last time all the marauders had been together grew longer, each year the pain healed a little more, but looking back could still break his heart.

Peter still hadn't been caught, three of the marauders were living and free. They doubt that anyone would ever find him, although they had confessed that he was an illegal animagus, and that Sirius was also, they hadn't wanted to mention James' name because they hadn't wanted to taint his memory in the slightest, but then Sirius had pointed out that James' rule was if one goes down, we all go down, and had casually mentioned his animagus status. Although Dumbledore had been disappointed in their behaviour he had, of course, forgiven them, and the ministry had been shockingly lenient, although they suspected they had more important things to worry about than whether or not Sirius had decided to become an animagus at the age of fifteen.

Harry, who always had the ability to bring Sirius out of his thoughts, did so just then, with a loud bang the crackers were scattered around the room, Sirius looked at his godson who stared at the floor, a guilty expression on his face. "Harry… did you just…?"

"I didn't mean to." He continued to stare at the floor as Sirius let out a whoop of joy and sprung to his feet, lifting Harry up and spinning him around.

"Did you see that Moony? Do you know what just happened? Harry, you genius!"

"He's only five, Sirius, it was probably…"

"I'm five _and a half_." Harry interjected, still looking puzzled.

"He's only five and a half. Most children don't do any magic that early."

"But Harry's Lily and James' son, everyone knew he'd be a genius!" He beamed at his godson happily, spinning him around again. "Merry Christmas Harry! Merry Christmas!"

Remus chuckled at Sirius' excitement. It was, of course, an amazing experience, a child's first bit of magic, but, he thought as he looked around the room at the crackers everywhere and the scorch marks in the carpet, someone was going to have to clean up this mess, and that someone would probably be him.

**A/N: Sorry, that was a bit of a rubbishy filler, but I didn't want to jump straight to Christmas and I was running out of ideas to put before it, forgive me & review and I'll let Harry make scorch marks in your carpet! Or…something else…**


	17. Christmas

**A/N: Thanks for reading & reviewing as always!**

Sirius felt something small propel itself onto his bed and opened his eyes slightly, glancing at his watch, it was five in the morning but the something small appeared to be persistent and, on further inspection, turned out to be his godson. His very excitable godson.

"It's Christmas!" The small boy yelled, it took Sirius a moment or two to register what Harry had said, but when he did he grinned and lifted him into the air, placing him on the floor with a soft thud.

"Go wake Uncle Moony up then!" He laughed at Harry's eagerness as the five year old sped from the room. He thought back to Harry's very first Christmas, he had spent it at the Potters', James had woken him up around seven with a pillow and then they had woken Lily and Harry together. His godson hadn't understood what was going on, and had been far more interested in the wrapping paper than all the presents he had been bought. But now, he thought, as he heard Remus' objections to being woken, Harry was definitely not all that interested in his wrapping paper. He wandered over to Remus' bedroom, not bothering to get dressed, and stuck his head around the door. "Morning Moony."

"Why are we getting up so early?" He asked, grumpily pulling on his slippers.

"Because it's Christmas!" Harry and Sirius chorused. Remus scowled and Sirius picked up his godson.

"Word of advice for you Harry, never wake a sleeping werewolf." Harry giggled and Sirius turned him upside down, tickling him as he carried him down the stairs and planted him on the sofa, opposite the large Christmas tree which had more presents than Harry could even have imagined he was going to get beneath it. Sirius crossed the room to pick up one of his godson's presents and swore loudly as he stood on something. Harry giggled again, and Remus chuckled from the doorway.

"Should've bought you slippers, shouldn't I?" Sirius made an obscene hand gesture and picked up Harry's first present, which was from Augusta Longbottom, and handed it to the small boy, pulling a face at Remus who rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I sent one for Neville." It was something Sirius always forgot, but Augusta never did, they had been quite surprised to receive a present from her the first Christmas after Lily and James' deaths, but Dumbledore had explained about the prophecy, and about the connection to Neville that Harry had. He supposed that she felt both guilty and thankful that Harry was the boy who lived and not her grandson, and as such wanted to do what little she could for the boy, every birthday and Christmas she sent a little something to the boy she had never actually met, and every birthday and Christmas Remus reminded Sirius to send something to Neville, then, knowing his friend would forget, sent it himself.

Once Harry had opened the present, which was a book of fairytales, Sirius handed him another. Remus made a list of all the people who had sent Harry presents, in order for them to send thank you notes, another thing Sirius always forgot. Harry said thank you for every present Sirius and Remus had given him and surprised them both by disappearing to his room and returning with presents for them both. They looked at each other, and both shrugged. Harry grinned as they opened them, a huge bar of chocolate for Remus and, much to Remus' amusement, a pair of slippers for Sirius. They both thanked the small boy, giving him a hug each, then Sirius placed him on his lap. "Harry, how did you get Uncle Moony's present? I didn't buy it for you."

"Kreacher!" He beamed at his own idea and the house elf appeared in the doorway.

"Master Harry, it's supposed to be a secret!" Harry shook his head and told Kreacher to sit with them, the house elf, who looked rather shocked, did as he had been asked, whilst Sirius stared in shock, both that Kreacher would actually do something _nice _and that he was now calling Harry master, despite him not actually being part of the Black family.

"Whose idea was the slippers, Harry?" Sirius asked, sliding them onto his feet and crossing his legs at the ankles.

"Mine!" He clambered off Sirius' lap and picked up another present, one Sirius had known about, and handed it to Kreacher. "Open it! Open it!" He chanted excitedly, the house elf, who was looking very overwhelmed by the whole situation, opened the present carefully. It was a picture of Sirius' family, a very old picture, which he had had to ask Andromeda for, she had nearly fainted with shock that he had wanted anything that was remotely related to the Black family, and in all honesty, he hadn't, but he couldn't say no to Harry, and when Kreacher had said what he wanted more than anything was for the family of Black to be given back to him the boy had been insistent that they did _something_, the photo itself had been Remus' idea. The house elf burst into tears upon seeing the photo and Harry looked at his godfather worriedly. "Doesn't he like it?"

"Master Harry, Kreacher doesn't deserve such a present!" Sirius stopped himself from mumbling his agreement at that statement and instead lifted the picture from the ground and thrust it back into Kreacher's hands. The elf burst into tears yet again and Harry reached out to hug him. Much to Sirius' shock, the elf didn't move away, but let Harry cuddle him gently and did his best to stop crying. "Thank you Master Harry, thank you, you are a good boy, a very good boy!"

"Uncle Moony, I'm a good boy!"

"You are. You get that from me and Mummy, not from Daddy and Sirius." Harry giggled and lifted up a photograph of Lily and James, placing it in front of the Christmas tree and lying on his stomach, just as he did every year, he told them about each and every one of his presents.

"Mummy you get lots of presents but not Daddy, Uncle Moony said Daddy not a good boy." Sirius laughed but didn't interrupt his godson's Christmas ritual, instead helped Remus clean up the wrapping paper that covered the living room. Harry rolled onto his back when he was finished. "Is it time for food yet?"

**A/N: That was another short one, sorry, but I'll try and get another part up later today or early tomorrow, I appear to have left any shred of talent I might have behind in Portsmouth & I'm really frustrating myself with my lack of updates recently. **

**Thanks for reading, anyway, and please please review!**


	18. Breakages, Crushes and Explosions

**A/N: Thanks for reading & reviewing people.**

**I still own nothing, although I have been promised my very own Remus for my birthday.**

Sirius' head was pounding, it was getting louder and louder. He opened his eyes slowly and realised, as he squinted against the light, two things, firstly, he was still in his clothes from the night before, and secondly, the hammering in his head wasn't, in fact, inside his head at all, but was coming from the front door. He stood, somewhat shakily, and wandered out towards the hallway, where a small boy in bright blue pyjamas was opening the front door, looking very proud of himself. He recognised Andromeda's voice as she ruffled Harry's hair. "Hello Harry, is your uncle Sirius still in bed?"

"I'm awake…." Sirius heard himself mutter, although he was pretty sure he hadn't opened his mouth, which, incidentally, felt very dry indeed. "Only just, but I'm awake… come in… Moony'll make you tea…" He walked to the foot of the stairs. "Moony!"

"He's _sleeping_." Harry said, shaking his head at his godfather disapprovingly. Sirius chuckled. "And you can't wake him up because you said never wake a sleeping-" A sudden clatter behind the five year old caused him to break off, and Andromeda's only child stood in the door way, looking apologetically at her mother as the parcel she had been carrying collided with the floor. With a flick of her wand Andromeda repaired whatever was within the package and the girl smiled at little Harry, who was looking astounded by their visitors, especially by the teenager whose hair was a vibrant pink. Harry took hold of this new visitor's hand, tugging her towards the kitchen, causing Andromeda and Sirius to laugh, Andromeda's husband didn't appear to be with them, although Sirius didn't question why.

"Um, follow Harry, I'll be down in a minute… just get changed and wake Moony up…" He ascended the stairs, listening to Harry's light chatter coming from the kitchen as he told Andromeda's daughter all about his Christmas presents, when he reached his bedroom he looked around it, his eyes were slightly more focused now and he quickly dressed, after washing and brushing his teeth, his mouth feeling considerably better once he had done so, he knocked on Remus' door. "Remus."

"Go _away_!"

"Remus, Andromeda's here."

"Go away."

"_Remus!_" The door opened in front of him, Remus looked even more dishevelled that he felt. He was an early bird most of the time, but as Sirius had learnt while they were at school, if Remus had, for some reason or other, not awoken as the sun rose, it was never a wise thing to attempt to get him out of bed. In short; Remus got up when he was ready and not before. "Andromeda's here and Harry's running round in his pyjamas, can you get up, _please_?" Remus mumbled something that sounded like an agreement and Sirius wandered back downstairs, upon entering the kitchen he found Harry sat between Andromeda and her daughter, whose name he couldn't for the life of him remember, chatting away excitedly. He smiled.

"Oh there's my favourite cousin, quite finished looking like the night of the living dead have you?"

"Oh haha, I had a late night last night."

"Doing what, exactly?"

"Just, sat up talking to Moony about stuff. Anyway, can I be introduced or not?"

"To who?" He nodded at the teenage girl, who had been looking at him with a vague sense of recognition. Andromeda smiled and nodded.

"This is Nymphadora-"

"Please don't call me Nymphadora."

"Nim-fa-door-ah?" Harry sounded out slowly. Nymphadora smiled at him sweetly.

"Call me Tonks."

"Tonks." Harry repeated, happy she had a name he could easily pronounce. Sirius smiled and watched as Harry clambered down from his chair and fetched one of the Christmas crackers from the side, holding it out to Tonks to pull with him. He giggled when it opened and pulled the admiral's hat that fell out onto his head, saluting Sirius with a grin he handed the packet of non-explodable luminous balloons to Tonks and half walked, half marched, towards the doorway, just as Remus came in. "Uncle Moony!" Harry grinned, Remus half smiled, and from the look on his face, Sirius suspected that he too felt that he had had one glass of fire whisky too many.

"Morning Harry… can we not shout, do you think?" He asked, his expression slightly pained.

"Why?" Harry's voice was no quieter than it had been before and Remus just laughed feebly and sat down beside Sirius, resting his head on his arms he looked up at Andromeda apologetically.

"Hi, long time no see, sorry for my state, I'd like to take this opportunity to blame your cousin."

"No problem Remus, very nice to see you again." She smiled softly and then gave Sirius a disapproving glare, but it was half hearted and Sirius ignored it, rising to make drinks for everyone.

"Tonks did you want tea or pumpkin juice?" But Tonks wasn't speaking, she was looking somewhat stunned, her gazed fixed on Remus, who appeared oblivious. Harry looked at her bemusedly, Andromeda looked slightly embarrassed, Sirius sniggered. "Moony, could you move or something?"

"Bugger off Padfoot." Remus mumbled, his eyes half shut.

"I apologise but you appear to have entranced my baby cousin and I'd like it very much if you stopped doing so." Tonks suddenly snapped out of her trance and blushed red, her hair changing to a pale yellow, which in turn caused Harry, who had never seen a metamorphmagus before, to gape unashamedly.

"Oh, Miss Tonks, sorry, I didn't see you there!" He smiled kindly at her, which appeared to make her go even more red, if Remus noticed he didn't say anything and Sirius certainly found the situation amusing, it appeared, to him, that little Nymphadora had a crush on her defence against the dark arts teacher, and of course, Sirius wasn't the sort of man to taunt, tease and otherwise wind up his very best friend over it. He smirked and handed out drinks to the adults silently.

"Hello Professor." Tonks mumbled eventually. "Didn't know you'd be here."

"Sirius is a friend of mine, I'm visiting for Christmas."

"Don't you have a wife then, Professor?" Sirius choked on his tea, but said nothing.

"No, no, not at the moment."

"Or any time soon, eh Moony?"

"Shut up Padfoot."

"Oh so grumpy."

"It's because you woke him up." Harry told Sirius, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. He climbed onto Remus' lap and pulled his hat off, placing it on his uncle's head. He wriggled until he was comfortable and smiled over at Tonks, totally oblivious to the situation, Sirius watched, thoroughly amused by the fact that, despite Tonks' questioning, Remus still seemed just as oblivious to Nymphadora's crush as the five year old was.

They sat at the table for a while, drinking their tea whilst Harry and Tonks discussed their Christmas presents, although Sirius noticed the latter's eyes did keep drifting from Harry to Remus, and he wondered just how many of Remus' students had crushes on him, or more to the point, if Remus actually noticed _any_ of them.

He had never noticed when girls fancied him at school either, and as such the majority of girls who were interested in him had gotten bored of waiting by the time he took it upon himself to notice them, he would never believe his fellow marauders when they told him a particular girl had been giving him the eye and his experience with women had been limited. Which was quite a contrast to Sirius' own love life, whilst at school he had had brief relationships with half of the girls in their year and a fair few in the years above and below theirs, after leaving school his list of flings was much too long to keep track of, and he always seemed to be taking a different girl to dinner parties and celebrations.

When he broke away from his thoughts he saw Tonks had successfully managed to knock her mother's cup of tea everywhere, Remus flicked his wand to clear up the damage and Tonks seemed to look even more embarrassed. It was that moment that Harry sprung to his feet and insisted upon a game of exploding snap. No one dared say no, it was Christmas after all and Harry looked so excited at the thought of having so many people to play against.

It actually transpired that Harry was the third person to run out of cards, despite both Remus and Tonks occasionally slipping him a few extra cards. He sat on Sirius' lap as they watched the game continue, there was no way Harry would let them end it before someone won. Tonks appeared to have become more comfortable with being in a casual environment with one of her professors, although she still appeared to be slightly in awe of him. As it was, they had one card left each and were staring intently at the deck, Remus laid his card, a smirk on his face, and they both dived for the cards at the same time. When Remus' hand met Tonks' she turned redder than the tinsel on the Christmas tree, the cards suddenly exploded and Harry jumped about excitedly. Whilst Tonks moved to sit on a chair, looking thoroughly overwhelmed, Remus, who still appeared to be totally unaware of the young girl's crush, cleaned up the cards and offered mince pies to everyone. Tonks barely said a word for the rest of the afternoon, but looked as though she was in another world.

She hugged Harry goodbye and gave Sirius an awkward half hug before looking at Remus.

"Um… see you in a couple of weeks Professor."

"I'm sure you will, don't forget my essay." He smiled kindly and Sirius rolled his eyes and allowed Andromeda to hug him goodbye.

"That present on the table's for Harry by the way, if it's still a little broken I'm sure you'll manage to fix it, and I'll visit in the new year, if you need anything just owl me, okay?"

"I don't need mothering, Andromeda."

"Yes, you do Sirius, you always need mothering." She ruffled his perfect hair and he scowled as she hugged Remus goodbye and ushered Nymphadora out the door.

"Are all your students like that?"

"What?"

"In love with you?"

"What? Nymphadora's not in love with me!" Sirius shook his head and patted Remus' back.

"So young, so naïve…" Harry looked up at his guardian and mimicked him.

"So young, so neeve." Remus lifted Harry up, laughing at him and ignoring Sirius' comments, which, in his mind, were totally ridiculous.

**A/N: Here's the other update, as promised! I'm actually quite pleased with how this one turned out, hopefully you will be too. **

**I'm not sure how much longer to keep Harry five, or whether to skip to Hogwarts or do another age in between, I know I will have a least one update visiting ten year old Harry, but what would people like to see? I'm writing for you lot really so whatever people want I'll try & include!**

**Thanks to everyone who keeps reading & reviewing. Reviewers can playing exploding snap with the boys!**


	19. Special Delivery

**A/N: Thanks for reading & reviewing everyone!**

**I've skipped forward to July 1991, I couldn't think of enough material to do a whole other age, although there will be several chapters before Harry actually reaches Hogwarts!**

Harry lay in the middle of his four poster bed staring at the ceiling and wondering if his godfather was up yet, his stomach was rumbling and he really wanted a big breakfast, he turned his head, squinting slightly as the sunlight streaming through a gap in the curtains met his eyes. The walls were still the same pale green colour they had been since he had chosen this to be his bedroom five years ago, an assortment of drawings covered each wall, when he had filled one he had simply started another, the drawings had gotten better as he had gotten older and his favourite was of a dragon and covered the entire wall space underneath his window.

He wasn't brilliant at drawing but he had copied it out of a book that Uncle Moony had bought him and Sirius had helped touch it up. One day, he thought, he might paint over his drawings, but not the dragon, which he had named James, because he couldn't call everything Prongs.

He rose from the bed when he heard Sirius' footsteps and padded out the door, smiling at his godfather. Sirius smiled back very slightly, his eyes were still half closed and his hair was sticking up in all directions, he wasn't wearing any socks or slippers and his pyjama top had been discarded sometime between him going to bed last night and getting up this morning. Harry resisted the urge to laugh and followed him down the stairs. They both slept in most days but today was the first day of the summer holidays, which meant that Uncle Moony would be home that afternoon, and Sirius would get in trouble if he wasn't up and looking presentable, but, Harry realised as he glanced at his Puddlemere United watch, it was almost midday and Sirius had most definitely overslept.

It had been like this every Christmas, Easter and Summer for as long as Harry could remember, Sirius would oversleep and get up looking worse for wear because he knew he had to have Harry fed and watered before Remus arrived and the house had to look presentable, Harry never got out of bed before he heard Sirius rise, the only time he did was when Andromeda came to visit.

Andromeda was one of his favourite people, she was Sirius' cousin and always brought him presents. She visited at least once a month because she said Sirius couldn't look after himself and she was a much better cook that he was, she was even a better cook that Remus, who had become very good at cooking over the past few years.

He slid onto a chair at the end of the long table that filled most of the kitchen and watched Sirius silently making tea, he wouldn't speak to him until he'd drunk some because Sirius was always in a bad mood before he had a cup of tea. In fact, it seemed to Harry that Sirius was in a bad mood a lot of the time lately. But Harry didn't like to ask him why.

If, in fact, Harry had chosen to enquire, it was unlikely Sirius would have answered him. He hadn't meant to be temperamental lately he was just dreading the next two weeks, sometime before Harry's eleventh birthday, which was fast approaching, a letter would be arriving from Hogwarts, and when the letter came Sirius knew he would have to resign himself to the fact that Harry would soon be leaving and that Sirius would spend the majority of the year alone. He passed a cup of tea to his godson and forced a smile onto his face.

"How's it feel to be nearly eleven, then?" Harry shrugged.

"How's it feel to be nearly a hundred?" Sirius laughed, he was really going to miss having him around all the time. Harry could be very cheeky when he wanted to, he had a fantastic sense of humour which he had obviously inherited from James, but he was incredibly kind and good natured, something he had inherited from Lily, no doubt. He could still, at times, be incredibly shy, but was generally a happy, confident boy. There were days when he craved attention and would throw himself into Sirius' arms unashamedly, but the nightmares had all but stopped and Sirius was sure he had done right by him, that he had raised him well, the way Lily and James would have.

He had had very little contact with the wizarding world and as such was an incredibly modest boy, unaware of his fame and his status as the boy who lived, he would go to Hogwarts feeling just as every other first year did, although there was a high chance his classmates would initially be in awe of him it was not something he had grown to expect, in fact, Sirius thought as he watched Harry sipping his drink quietly, he was probably less arrogant than James had been when they had begun their time at Hogwarts.

Sirius thought back to those days, to being a first year himself, and further back, to the weeks before his own eleventh birthday. He had waited with nervous anticipation for his letter, watching for an owl every day, dreading the idea that no letter would come, that he would, in fact, be a squib. He had sat at this table, in this very room, the day before his birthday, biting hard on his lip as the post arrived, dreading the letter not coming. He had tasted the blood just as his father passed him the letter. His parents had smiled proudly as he had read it aloud, that was probably the last time they had been proud of their eldest son, Sirius reflected sadly.

Harry's stomach rumbled loudly and Sirius barked a laugh as he stood up.

"Feed you, shall I?"

"Yes please." Harry beamed and watched Sirius fry bacon for breakfast, he seemed more cheerful this morning, and Harry began to feel excited about his birthday again, and along with it, the fact that his Hogwarts letter should be arriving very soon. Although a little voice in the back of his head was whispering that he wouldn't get a letter, that he was a squib, that there was no way Hogwarts would accept him. He told the voice to shut up. Of course he wasn't a squib, he'd exploded Christmas crackers when he was five and he'd moved his bed half way across the room when he was seven and couldn't get up because he had dragon pox and the healer who had visited had insisted he didn't leave his bed.

Sirius seemed to be reading Harry's thoughts because he smiled kindly as he lay down his breakfast and winked at him. "You'll get in, your letter'll be here soon."

It was at that moment that the post came flying in, but despite there being several letters for Sirius, and one for Harry from Neville Longbottom, with whom he engaged in occasional correspondence, probably at Augusta's insistence, there was nothing from Hogwarts. Harry placed it to one side and ate his breakfast, he would read it later whilst Sirius tidied the house. Whilst Sirius flicked through his own post, discarding most of it as bills and junk mail, Harry concentrated on eating. His godfather had just put down his final letter and lifted his fork towards his mouth when a clatter in the living room told them that Remus had arrived two hours earlier than anticipated. Sirius swore under his breath and Harry struggled to suppress a giggle. Remus' head appeared in the doorway.

"Hello gentlemen." He smiled as he walked into the room. "I have a delivery for a Mr H Potter."

"You do? Well you had better hand it to the young boy like the good postman you are then, hadn't you sir?"

"Certainly." And Remus passed a heavy letter towards Harry. His name and address were on the front in a bright green ink, he turned it over and his finger grazed over the seal as he stared down at the Hogwarts crest embossed upon it.

**A/N:****I think I'll alternate between Sirius & Harry's perspectives for the rest of the fic, if people don't like it like that though please say! I just thought it'd be nice to see how Harry sees things, and obviously when he gets to Hogwarts I will need to do his perspective if I want to describe what's happening to him, rather than just Sirius' musings on the matter.**

**Anyway, please review, thanks for reading & as this is nearing twenty chapters, thanks for sticking with it all this length, I don't think I've ever written something this long, it'll probably reach at least forty chapters before I'm finished, possibly more!**


	20. Of Hogwarts and Houses

**A/N: Thanks for reading & reviewing everyone!**

Sirius sat in his room staring out of the window into the street below, Harry, he knew, was in his own room, rereading his Hogwarts letter for the tenth time. He didn't notice Remus appear in the doorway until he spoke.

"He'll have the time of his life." Sirius turned to face his friend, who was leaning casually against the doorframe, his hands shoved inside the pockets of his jeans. His appearance had improved somewhat over the past ten years, teaching at Hogwarts had meant he had a regular, steady income for the first time in his life, although he didn't have flash clothing, preferring to keep a respectable amount of money saved up, all his clothes were new, none were patched and worn, and although his hair was beginning to grey prematurely, he still looked young, healthy, happy. Sirius nodded softly. "You don't have to be scared for him, Padfoot."

"I'm not." He stopped himself from adding _I'm scared for me_ and brushed dust from his window ledge distractedly.

Remus moved to stand beside him. He knew Sirius better than anyone, he could read him like an open book, with very large print, he smiled. "He'll be back every holiday."

"He's been the biggest part of my life for the last ten years, Moony, what am I supposed to do all day without him here?"

"You could try tidying up." He grinned and sat on the window ledge. Sirius laughed and sat beside him, they stayed that way for quite a while, they had been friends for almost twenty years, there were so many things that went unsaid between them, just because they were things they no longer needed to mention, they could sit in a comfortable silence for hours and never feel the need to speak. Sirius studied his friend for a moment, thinking back to when they first met.

He had been very short, something that never changed, Remus was always shorter than Sirius, he had looked very tired, the full moon was a few days after term started. James had offered him one of their chocolate frogs and Remus had helped them work their way through the lot. It was hard to believe it had been so long ago, when he could remember it as though it had happened yesterday.

It had been Remus who had calmed him after the sorting too. He had grinned at the time, and sent a very smug look at his cousin Narcissa, who was in her fifth year at the time, he had also winked cheekily at Andromeda, who was in her seventh year and had shaken her head at him, but with a smile playing on her lips. But he feared his parents reaction, and had worked himself up into a state that night in his dormitory, ranting that they might have forgiven him for being sorted into Ravenclaw, maybe even Hufflepuff, but that they would never, ever forgive him for being a Gryffindor. He had thrown his belongings, he had scared Peter and he had blamed James. Remus had grabbed the taller boy by his shoulder and forced him to sit down with a strength he could only have had as the full moon approached.

It was on that night their friendship had been forged, the four of them had sat, once Sirius was calm, and talked, all night, just about anything and everything. That night, twenty years ago, had changed his life. A series of what ifs ran through his mind, what if he had been in Slytherin, what if Peter hadn't been a Gryffindor, what if he hadn't sat with James on the train. These thoughts always haunted him whenever he became nostalgic, he always wondered if James would be alive had he never met Sirius. But he would never know and, he thought, as Harry popped his head around the door, he couldn't imagine a life that had never had James in it.

"Could we go to Diagon Alley soon?"

"Whatever for, young man?" Harry excitedly waved his equipment list at his godfather and sat on his bed. Sirius stood and crossed the room, taking the parchment from him and examining it. "Nope, still don't know what you're after. You're not going to Hogwarts, after all." Harry's expression changed suddenly, he tried to remain emotionless but a flicker of fear flashed in his eyes, he was wondering whether or not Sirius was actually serious.

"I…I am!"

"Are you?"

"I am."

"I don't think so. You're going to stay here and cook and clean for me for the rest of your days."

"I'm going to Hogwarts and I'm going to be an even better wizard than you are." He grinned. "And you're daft, you know." Remus roared with laughter and jumped down from the windowsill whilst Sirius shook his head at his godson. He turned to Remus.

"Really, wherever is he getting these ridiculous ideas, Moony?"

"He's been spending too much time with you, Padfoot."

"Oh dear. Well he'll be under your influence at Hogwarts. Don't send him back bookish."

"I doubt Harry will ever be bookish. Too much of James in him." Sirius nodded in agreement, there was a touch of the marauder about his young godson, he was like James in more than looks, he was already anticipating several owls dictating Harry's adventures and rule breaking, in fact, he was quite looking forward to it.

"I want to be just like my dad." Harry said proudly. "And I already know my way around most of Hogwarts. I think I can remember the quickest path to the kitchens from Gryffindor common-" He stopped suddenly and stared at his guardian, the fear back in his eyes.

"What if I'm not in Gryffindor?"

"We'll sell you to passing gypsies."

"Sirius! We don't care what house you're in Harry." But Harry was downcast, Sirius wondered if Harry actually believed he would disown him if he wasn't a Gryffindor and put a fatherly arm around him.

"Honestly, we don't, my whole family was in Slytherin except me, even Andromeda. We wouldn't mind _too_ much if you were one. And Tonks is in Hufflepuff. Nothing to be ashamed of. Nearer the kitchens too, right Moony?"

"Proximity to the kitchen is not the most important thing."

"You'll want him to be in Ravenclaw so he's nearest the library." Harry pulled an expression of disgust and then, as though worried he would offend Remus, smiled up at his father's friend.

"It's okay Uncle Moony, I promise to read at least once book while I'm at Hogwarts."

"One book in seven years, my God, however will you manage!"

**A/N: Sorry, that was another awful filler. And sorry for the delay on it too, I think that's the longest this fic's gone without being updated. I've had no inspiration & motivation for this one, I'm trying to delay getting to Harry's birthday, but all the ideas I have will come after then so it's proving harder than I thought!**

**Reviewers can sit on windowsills with the boys! (Or with Tonks if you prefer) **


	21. Happy Birthday

**A/N: I've found my muse! I came home for the weekend & I've decided I must've left it here because I've finally managed to write! Thanks to everyone who read & reviewed the last chapter :)**

Harry glanced at his watch, squinting to read the time in the poor light. It was six o'clock in the morning and he was eleven years old, his heart gave an involuntary leap and he sprung out of bed, not even bothering to put slippers over his bare feet as they practically danced across the dusty wooden floor of his bedroom, he raced into the hallway and knocked loudly first on Sirius' door and then Remus', excitement bubbling inside him. "Wake _up_!"

He bounced around outside their bedrooms unable to keep still. His head span around as something gold glittered within his eye line, reflecting in the lens of his glasses, he blinked and it was gone, replaced by his godfather standing at the top of the stairs, a grin spread across his face. "Happy birthday, Harry." He grinned and allowed himself to be hugged before following Sirius down the stairs, pausing only to turn his head when a second glimmer of gold shot past him, he looked at Sirius questioningly but he just smirked and continued on his way down the stairs, childishly jumping over the banister as they neared the bottom of the stairs, Harry followed suit and Remus, standing in the doorway of the living room, looked ready to reprimand them, but instead just smiled and patted Harry's shoulder, wishing him a happy birthday.

Glancing past him Harry could see the majority of the space in the room was filled with presents of various shapes and sizes, he felt incredibly spoilt as he made his way in and sat in a large arm chair, his legs crossed, elbows resting on his knees, his head propped up on his hands. Above the fireplace was a large banner from which the words HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY shone out at him, changing from red to gold and back again.

He could smell a mixture of baking and chocolate and wondered if his birthday cake was being cooked at that moment in time. Sirius and Uncle Moony sat side by side on the sofa, watching Harry amusedly, waiting for him to move. He didn't. After five minutes Sirius began to roar with laughter. "Oh, go open them." Harry beamed and jumped up, throwing himself headlong into the presents.

Soon the room was a mass of wrapping paper and Harry was surrounded by all his birthday presents, Sirius surveyed him silently, he was playing with a model quidditch pitch they had purchased for him in Diagon Alley, his feet were still bare, his hair unbrushed and standing up in multiple directions, his thin rimmed glasses sat neatly on his nose, he had been unfortunate enough to inherit James' eyesight, despite having Lily's eyes, over his pyjamas he had slung his new Puddlemere United quidditch robes and he was wearing one of the gloves that had come with them. Smiling proudly he reached out to touch his godson's shoulder. "Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"I've got another present for you."

"But you've already given me loads, you shouldn't have spent so much money…" Sirius smiled, Harry really was a good boy.

"This is from your mum and dad really, not us." Harry's breathing hitched slightly, he chewed on his lip nervously, he had many things that had once belonged to his parents, his father's quaffle, his mother's best quill set, his father's old broomstick, his mother's wand, although he would be purchasing his own, he just liked to look at it, Sirius had James' wand, perhaps that was what he would be giving Harry now. Every time he received something that had once been Lily's or once been James', it sent a stab of pain straight to his heart at the same time as it made him feel warm inside.

Sirius handed Harry a small box. Harry studied it, an odd expression on his face, well, there wasn't a broomstick in here. What could it be? He knew his parents had been buried with their wedding rings on because he had asked Sirius when he was eight and Andromeda had asked Uncle Moony to perform a charm to widen her own wedding ring. He couldn't think of anything else that could be small enough to fit within this box, slowly his small fingers opened it, just as something gold appeared in front of him again. He reached out and grabbed it quickly, looking down he saw a tiny golden snitch flittering between his fingers. Sirius smiled. "We let eleven go this morning." Harry grinned, he had been after a snitch for as long as he could remember, he pocketed it silently and returned his attention to the present Sirius had given him.

He glanced from Sirius to Uncle Moony, confused. The box contained a key, but there didn't seem to be anything special about it, it just looked like every other key he had ever seen, like the keys to the bedrooms, and they key to the front door, and the key to Uncle Moony's trunk and Sirius' wand box. "What's it for?"

"Your Gringotts vault."

"I don't have a Gringotts vault."

"It was your parents'. We decided we'd wait until you were eleven before we gave you the key, but you can't spend all the money at once, okay?"

"Can I buy my own wand?" He asked suddenly. He had been looking forward to getting his wand for months, but there was some sorrow in the back of his mind, that Sirius would be buying him his first wand, not his parents. It wasn't that he didn't love Sirius, he couldn't love him any more if he was his own father, it was just that he knew almost every other new witch and wizard would be going with their parents to purchase their first wand, not Neville though, his grandmother would be taking him, Neville had said so in his last letter, and Harry was sure that Neville wished his parents could take him too. But if Harry paid for it himself, with his money, with their money, then it would be almost, _almost_, like his parents had bought it for him. Sirius simply nodded and Uncle Moony rose to his feet.

"Right! Come on Mr Potter, let's get a-tidying before your party guests get here!"

"_Party?_"

"Of course. Not every day you turn eleven, after all."

"Who's coming? Is Andromeda coming? Is Tonks coming?" He returned the Gringotts key carefully to the box and placed it on an armchair before bouncing about excitedly, after all, no one had told him he would be getting a birthday party.

"Yes, and Neville and his grandmother. And Tonks' father, some other people too, maybe."

"You better go get dressed too, before Uncle Moony starts to panic."

"Sirius, sometimes I think you're a complete idiot."

"That's because he is." Harry said, grinning, and ducked the friendly blow Sirius aimed at his head, running up the stairs to get changed properly into his quidditch robes, determined to wear them all day.

**A/N: Reviewers may be added to the guest list for Harry's party ;)**


	22. Life, Love, Parties and Chocolate Cake

**A/N: Happy Birthday to Harry! And Happy Birthday to me actually! Woohoo! (Reviews make good birthday presents)**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter & to tf especially, whose reviews I couldn't reply to but I wanted to say thank you very much for!**

Harry was the centre of attention. And, furthermore, he was loving it. He had his Hogwarts hat upon his head and was wearing his Puddlemere United robes proudly. Sirius watched, a smile on his face, as Harry talked animatedly to Dora, telling her about his ambition to play for Puddlemere one day, and that Sirius had told him he would be playing chaser for Gryffindor in next to no time.

Music was playing, the pumpkin juice was flowing, presents were piled high, as was the wrapping paper, the party was in full swing. Neville Longbottom was sat beside Harry, hanging onto his every word. The boys had exchanged an awkward greeting when the Longbottoms had arrived, they had then swapped birthday presents and were overjoyed to see they had purchased the same book for each other, it was filled with spells that were brilliant for having fun, charms to change the colour of people's drinks and such like, neither boy could wait to get their wands and test the spells out, Sirius sensed destruction, Harry did enough damage without a wand, after all.

Remus was standing beside the fireplace, talking to Hagrid, who Harry had been overjoyed to see, but his eyes kept drifting over to where Dora was standing and Sirius wondered if he had begun to return the unwavering infatuation she had with him. He walked over to them, still smiling. He was, in fact, feeling especially happy, all thoughts of Harry leaving had been banished from his mind and he was concentrating, proudly, on the fact that he had raised this boy, this charming, clever, caring, cheeky little eleven year old, and he had actually done a fairly good job of it, if he did say so himself. "Staring are you, Moony?"

"I was just watching Harry, thinking, actually. He's such a character. You've done a good job."

"Well, it's not like I haven't had help… but, anyway, it's not Harry you're looking at."

"What? Of course it is!"

"Oh really?" Sirius smirked and nodded to where Harry and Neville had wandered over to Harry's pile of presents and were playing with the miniature quidditch pitch. Remus hadn't noticed.

"You're being ridiculous, Sirius, you've had too much firewhisky."

"Haven't touched a drop actually, it is Harry's birthday after all. Besides, I thought I might take him out for a fly later, birthday treat."

"That's not a good idea, Padfoot; we're in the middle of muggle London!" Sirius merely rolled his eyes, he had no intention of listening to Remus, it had been months since he had flown anywhere, and Harry hadn't been on a broomstick since he was five years old, unless you counted zipping around the drawing room on Sirius' old battered Cleansweep, which was slow enough that Harry couldn't pick up enough speed to do any real damage to anything he managed to crash into.

"I do believe we were talking about Nymphadora, Mr Moony."

"What about her?" Remus sighed impatiently, Sirius was determined never to let this drop and had teased and taunted him every time Andromeda brought her daughter to visit. However, Remus was struggling to hide the fact that he now felt obliged to admit that she had become a very attractive young woman and that he was beginning to see her in an entirely new light. He had, however, no intention of ever admitting it, least of all to Sirius.

"I know you fancy her. Can't blame you really, she's turned into… well, she's not a little kid any more."

"I don't fancy her. And regardless, she's my student."

"She's left Hogwarts now." Sirius pointed out. Remus sighed.

"No matter Sirius, let's concentrate on Harry, shall we? I'll get the cake."

"Is it a chocolate cake?"

"Yes."

"Incredibly predictable, Mr Lupin."

"Why change the habits of a lifetime?" Remus smiled at his best friend and patted him on the back as he retreated towards the kitchen, Sirius flicked the music off and ran at Harry, picking him up under the knees he carried him across the room and then hoisted him up onto his shoulders. Harry grinned, waving down at his party guests.

Sirius smiled and gripped onto Harry's shins, careful not to drop him, he shrugged slightly at the eleven year old's weight, he had been much lighter, and this had been much easier, when he was six. He had loved to sit upon Sirius' shoulders, more than he had Remus' because Sirius was a good six inches taller, the world always looked much better from your father's shoulders. Sirius could remember being perched upon Orion Black's shoulders as a small child and feeling as though he was king of the world, and although Harry wasn't actually sat on his father's shoulders, he liked to think the young boy still felt like he could do anything and be anything.

He felt Harry's arms rest upon his head and laughed, Neville stared up at Harry in awe and Tonks giggled away in the corner, he blinked as the flash of a camera blinded him, but then smiled at the thought of this wonderful moment being captured forever. This was, after all, probably the last birthday that Harry would want to be lifted onto Sirius' shoulders, that he wanted all this love thrown at him, next year he would be twelve, fresh from Hogwarts and considerably more independent, and after that the teenage years would approach, and if his own history was anything to go by, the last thing he would want was to be treated like a child.

An unwelcome idea filled his mind as he became more determined to cling to these moments, what if Harry grew up like Sirius had, rejecting all that he had been brought up to believe and turning away from the only family he had? What if he turned in the opposite direction? Joined the dark side? His fears that Harry would be sorted into Slytherin were heightened by the fear that he would turn away from all he had been raised to believe in, all that his parents had believed in, all that his parents had died for. He banished the thought, fixing a smile onto his face as he watched Harry's chocolate birthday cake, in the shape of the Hogwarts crest, float into the room, eleven candles shining brightly.

His eyes flicked upwards as Harry leaned forward to blow them out, everyone shouting for him to make a wish, Harry's green eyes shut tight behind his glasses as he blew them out.

"You make a wish, mate?"

"Yeah…" He smiled. "I did."

"What did you wish for?"

"Can't tell you, it won't come true if I do." Sirius laughed and lowered Harry to the ground, the second his feet touched the ground his hand flew out and he grinned as he held up another golden snitch. "That makes five, doesn't it?"

**A/N: It needs proof read I know but I've had like four hours sleep & just want to upload it so I extend my apologies for any errors & shall fix them later!**

**Thanks for reading & reviewing, I'm overwhelmed by the number of reviews this fic has, and I'm sorry about the infrequency of the updates over the past few weeks, I'll try and get on top of things!**


	23. Dangerous

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who read/reviewed the last chapter!**

With all the party guests gone and night having fallen Sirius and Remus began to clean up the house, Sirius was unusually quiet as he flicked his wand around the living room, guiding wrapping paper and paper plates into a large rubbish bag beside the door. Remus smiled at him from where he was returning all of Harry's presents to the coffee table, ready for them to be taken upstairs when Harry woke up the next morning. "What's up, Padfoot?"

"Nothing…" He sighed softly, knowing Remus didn't believe him. "It's just, I remember him being born… James nearly dropped him." He laughed sadly at the memory. "And now he's eleven, and he's about to start Hogwarts, and Lily and James…they're not here to see it…" Remus nodded, but said nothing, they fell into the comfortable silence that had become a regular feature in the friendship since Lily and James had been killed. Neither spoke until the room had been cleared completely and they were sat side by side on the sofa, Remus offered his friend a reassuring smile and handed him the photograph of Harry perched upon his shoulders. Sirius ran a hand affectionately over it, smiling distantly.

"He's going to be fine, Lily and James'd be so proud of him. So proud of you."

"Of me?"

"You've done a great job Sirius, you've brought him up brilliantly."

"I didn't do it on my own, I had you and Andromeda and we had loads of help when we were at Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts. Exactly, Sirius he'll be fine because he knows Hogwarts, better than anyone else in his year will. And you'll be giving him the map, won't you?"

"You won't confiscate it?"

"Be a little hypocritical, wouldn't it?"

"You confiscated it off me before." Remus laughed at the memory. When they were in sixth year and Remus was patrolling the corridors on his prefect's round with Lily he had caught James, Sirius and Peter about to sneak into Hogsmeade. He had taken the map from them, pocketed it and sent them back to the dormitory. Lily had found it very amusing. Sirius had been outraged. James hadn't spoken to him for a week.

But, he had told them, it served them right for sneaking into Hogsmeade without him, and he had given them the map back anyway, despite the fact that it was one quarter his and he could have kept it forever had he wanted to.

"I gave you it back, and I'd give it back to Harry too." He paused, looking at Sirius with an expression of seriousness across his face. "We need to talk about him though. Well, about me really…"

"Moony?"

"About my…my…"

"Furry little problem?" Sirius beamed.

"Yes."

"He knows already, he's known his whole life, it makes no odds to him."

"I know Sirius, but that's the problem, he doesn't regard it as different or as a problem and he'll start Hogwarts and people'll start telling him that werewolves are dark creatures and that they're dangerous-"

"He won't believe them, Moony, he loves you like you're his real uncle."

"But that's the point, Padfoot, he doesn't understand about the prejudices because we've kept him so… so… _sheltered_, and what if he defends werewolves, eh? Defends _me_. We've got to explain to him the way things are, that I'm _dangerous_."

"You're **not** dangerous, Moony!"

"I am and you know it, Sirius."

"You're not. You've just got a few issues."

"Issues!" Remus sighed exasperatedly. "You and James and Peter," Sirius scowled at the mention of Pettigrew's name, "you always made it out to be less than it was, like it didn't matter-"

"It didn't matter to us! It doesn't matter to me!"

"But matters to the world, Sirius, for Merlin's sake will you let me finish what I'm trying to say?!"

"Alright, keep your wig on!"

"If this was a wig do you think it'd be so bloody grey?!" Sirius roared with laughter and Remus grinned back at him, they could never stay angry at each other for too long, they had been through so much together that they were practically brothers now and each and every day was filled with the kind of jokes that only friends could get away with. Sirius patted Remus' back softly and ruffled his hair, laughing as his friend ducked away.

"I found a grey hair the other day y'know. I nearly cried." Remus shook his head, a smirk playing on his lips.

"You're an idiot."

"I am not."

"We need to talk about Harry."

"What about me?" Both men turned as they saw Harry standing in the doorway. Remus smiled and Sirius held out an arm, indicating for him to join them, he beside his godfather, tiredly resting his head on the back of the sofa, studying the adults for a moment, they both had serious expressions on their faces and he knew whatever they said was going to be important, for a fleeting moment he panicked they were about to tell him he couldn't go to Hogwarts any more, but he knew deep down it wouldn't be that, even though it was his greatest fear.

"Well, it's more about Uncle Moony really, mate…" Harry blinked, confused.

"What about him?"

"You know that I'm a werewolf, don't you Harry?"

"Yes." Harry rolled his eyes, not really understanding why they were having this conversation. "I know I'm not supposed to tell anyone at school."

"Harry, this is very important." Remus let out a long breath; this wasn't a conversation he wanted to have with anyone, let alone with Harry. "There are some people… some wizards, some werewolves, who aren't very nice people."

"Even when they're not werewolves?"

"There are some people, some werewolves, who don't try to stop bad things from happening, who don't try to stop themselves from hurting people."

"But you're not like that."

"No, no, I'm not, but some werewolves are, so people think werewolves are very dangerous. Werewolves are very dangerous. _I'm_ very dangerous." Sirius opened his mouth to protest but Remus shot him a look, Harry stared intently at Remus, confused. "That's why I have to stay in the cellar when it's the full moon, because if I was with you or Sirius I could hurt you."

"Why would you?"

"Because when I'm a wolf I can't control the way I think and I forget that I'm your uncle Moony."

"How could you forget that?"

"Because… because that's what happens when you're a werewolf. But Harry, when you hear at school that werewolves are dangerous and dark creatures you have to remember that a lot of them are and you have to try your best not to get angry at people who say it and you can't tell a single person that I'm a werewolf, because the parents of the other students wouldn't like them to be taught by a werewolf, even if I am tame."

"Is it lonely, Uncle Moony?" Remus paused before answering, Harry would see through him if he lied, but if he told him the truth then he would probably have to deal with further questioning and with Harry being worried about him every month.

"Only sometimes." Harry nodded and reached over to a box of chocolate frogs he had been given for his birthday, handing two to Remus with a grin on his face. Remus laughed, amazed at how like James he was. The day his friends had announced they knew he was a werewolf James had bounded over to him and handed him a bar of Honeydukes' Finest before they'd gathered around him and told him about their discovery. Once the words had left their mouths James had waved the chocolate bar in front of Remus' face as though it was the answer to all of his problems. In fact, Lily had given him a hot chocolate when he found out she knew his secret too, well, with parents like his, what else could expect from Harry. He smiled as he ate the chocolate. Sirius grinned.

"Do you know what, Harry?"

"What?"

"Uncle Moony doesn't wear a wig."

**A/N: That part went nowhere near where I wanted it to but I quite like it, hopefully you will too.**

**Reviews still very much appreciated!**


	24. Bookshop Calamities

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who read/reviewed the last chapter, sorry to those I never replied to!**

**My plan's gone up the spout! Well, it hasn't, it's just got to be reordered, so… here's Diagon Alley for you! & let's blame the full moon for the rearrangement.**

**Sorry for the delay in updating too. I'm a prat. **

Sirius made Harry wait a full week before he consented to take the young boy to buy his Hogwarts things, and only caved in because he was worried that his godson might actually explode if he didn't. Because Harry detested floo powder, and because Remus had decided that he was going to be in charge of their excursion, which had meant they had been practically force fed a full breakfast before they left and that Harry's fringe was practically plastered to his forehead, they were travelling to Diagon Alley on the London Underground. Harry had never been on the underground before and was bouncing about excitedly as they stood on the platform waiting for the tube to arrive. "How long's it going to take to get here Uncle Moony?" He asked impatiently. Sirius leant against the wall, looking equally impatient. The platform wasn't busy, it was a small station, after all, and they had left very early in the morning.

"It shouldn't be long Harry, they come every ten minutes."

"How long have we been here?"

"Too long." Sirius mumbled from behind them. His eyes were half closed and his hair, which was in need of cutting, was falling into his eyes, just as Harry's was lying untidily over the front of his glasses. He had his hands in his pockets and looked severely displeased both at having to be up this early and at the thought of travelling by tube, Sirius had always hated muggle transport, but he hated the tube most of all, Remus and Lily had taken Sirius and James into muggle London because Lily insisted they purchased muggle suits for the wedding, not all of Lily's family and friends had known that she was a witch, neither of them had set foot in an underground station before and both had disliked it immensely, although Sirius had amused himself playing with doors until a middle aged man had told him in no uncertain terms that he should discontinue if he wanted to remain on the train. Sirius, being Sirius, had sworn at him and told him that no, thank you very much; he didn't want to remain on the train. It had taken all three of them to haul him away before he earned himself a fat lip and Lily had performed a quick silencing charm on him for the return journey.

"How long does it take to get there from here?"

"Impatient today, aren't you Mr Potter?"

"I want to get there." He said plainly, and cheered as he heard the roar of the train speeding towards them, Remus gripped his shoulder to stop him running too close to the tracks, James had nearly thrown himself in front of a tube on that first day in his eagerness to get on board and find out just how those curious muggle creatures survived on a daily basis.

They were lucky enough to get seats together when they got on board and Harry looked around excitedly at everything, Remus dreaded the young boy asking the sort of questions that might draw the attention of some of the muggles in the carriage, but Harry said nothing until the tube started moving, at which point he looked over at Remus. "So, how long does it take?"

"About twenty minutes, I'd imagine, then we'll need to walk to the shops." Harry nodded and mimicked Sirius, who was staring idly out the window, his brow furrowed in frustration at being stuck inside this underground train, he had wanted to apparate and meet them there, but Remus didn't want to travel across muggle London alone with Harry, everything was new to him and he was raring to go. Sirius could run much faster than he could if they lost their charge.

Both men watched Harry's face fill with wonderment when they arrived in Diagon Alley, they had ushered him through the Leaky Cauldron so fast his feet barely had a chance to register the change from stone pavement to wooden flooring before he was outside once again. He stared, mouth agape, at the world around him, witches and wizards milled around them, it was a busy street and it had hardly changed since their own first year at Hogwarts, they day Remus bought his Hogwarts things had been the day of his first journey to Diagon Alley as well, unlike Sirius who had frequently visited before, although, and there were very few people he had admitted it to, much more of his childhood was spent in the darker locale of Knockturn Alley.

"Where to first then, Harry?"

"I need to get some gold to buy my wand."

"It's okay; I picked some up for you." He held out a small money bag and handed it to his godson.

"It is from my vault, isn't it? Because I want to pay myself."

"I solemnly swear it's your money." Remus laughed, Harry looked puzzled. Sirius still hadn't given him the Marauder's map; he was saving it for the night before the Hogwarts Express would leave. Harry pocketed the money bag but did not ask to be taken to Ollivander's straight away, instead he allowed Remus to steer them towards Flourish and Blotts, pausing only to stare in the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies on the way. Sirius said he would wait outside, mumbling something about wanting to smoke. Remus shot him a look and, sighing, Sirius followed them inside the shop.

It was very busy; there was a large queue of Hogwarts students leading back from where a rather exasperated shop assistant was standing behind an old, battered till. Harry looked up at Remus. "I've got quite a lot of books to buy."

"You do. Well, you'll need A Guide to Self Protection and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but I don't know what else… what's on that list of yours?" Harry went to pass the piece of parchment to Remus but it was knocked out of his hand as a small girl came tumbling towards him, screaming as she banged into him and then fell to the ground, knocking Harry with her.

"Oops." Harry heard a voice from above say.

"Sorry about that, mate."

"Complete accident. Didn't see you there." He saw a hand above him and gripped it, allowing the arm the hand was attached to to pull him up.

"No harm done is there?"

"I'm fine." Harry mumbled, straightening his glasses.

"Oh good."

"I'm not fine!" A voice said from the ground. Harry turned to see the girl who had fallen into him lying where she had landed, he helped her up.

"You don't need to tell Mum that though, do you Ginny?" A voice said, Harry turned his head to see another boy, identical to the first standing on his other side, he did a double take before registering that they were, in fact, twins. Uncle Moony was chuckling beside him, something which surprised Harry because he had half expected to be checked for minor injuries. Thinking about what Uncle Moony might do reminded Harry that he had to keep his scar covered and, in a fit of paranoia, he hastily flattened his fringe over his forehead once again before turning to look at Uncle Moony.

"And I thought you two were only trouble at Hogwarts."

"Trouble? Us?" The boys said in perfect unison. Harry suppressed the urge to laugh. "Never!" They chorused. Uncle Moony laughed again. Sirius seemed to have disappeared and Harry expected he'd escaped outside, Sirius hated bookshops, Harry wondered if he had ever read a book by choice.

"What're you doing here anyway, Professor?"

"I'm just bringing my….nephew…to buy his Hogwarts things. He'll be starting in September."

"Oh really!" One of the boys held out his hand for Harry to shake.

"Fred Weasley. Charming to meet you. Gryffindor, is it?"

"I…I hope so." Harry mumbled and shook the second boy's hand. He introduced himself as George.

"Our brother's a first year."

"He'll be in Gryffindor."

"Our whole family is."

"I'm not." The girl beside them mumbled.

"_That_ is because you're nine."

"I'm ten next week." The girl crossed her arms irritably and Harry smiled kindly at her before looking at Fred and George again, he had already decided that they were absolutely _brilliant_ and that he hoped everyone at Hogwarts was going to be this much fun.

"We'll get our brother if you want, so you can meet him." George said, with a wink.

"Oh Ronniekins! Wherefore art thou?" Fred called out, a grin playing on his lips. A boy appeared beside them. He was over a head taller than Harry and he had a scowl on his face, Harry studied him wordlessly, he didn't look very happy at all, in fact, he looked like he might kill his brothers. He listened as Fred and George introduced him _"This is Professor Lupin's nephew – that's Professor Lupin, teaches dark arts – yes Professor, we know it's defence against it but we can still pick up a few- of course we'd never break any rules – anyway Ronniekins, he'll be in your year – you might make a friend!"_ – but still didn't speak; he silently shook Ron's hand, offering a smile to the taller boy. He whispered quietly.

"My name's Ron. Please don't tell anyone they call me that stupid name…" Harry grinned at him.

"I'm Harry, Harry P-"

"Harry!" Uncle Moony suddenly exclaimed. "Where did Sirius go?"

"Probably as far away from bookshops as he can get." Harry said with a grin.

**A/N: More Diagon Alley in the next part – possibly the next two – I'll try & get another one up tomorrow or Monday!**

**Please review!**


	25. Family Ties

**A/N: Thanks for reading & reviewing everyone!**

**& I want to say an extra thanks to TT who reviews every chapter but who I can't reply to, just wanted to let you know I really appreciate it!**

Remus nodded to the Weasley twins and steered Harry quickly around the bookshop, wanting to get out as quickly as possible, disastrous things could occur when Sirius was left to his own devices after all, while he queued to pay for the books he watched Harry walk back over to Ron. He smiled. The Weasleys were a nice enough family, Remus had taught five of them already and was sure that Ron would be a perfectly acceptable friend for Harry, even if he had managed to inherit his brother's mischievous streak. Harry had no doubt gained James' talent for rule breaking.

Harry smiled at Ron, he felt happy to have gained a friend already, even though he already knew Neville, it was nice to know he had made a friend that hadn't been set in stone for him since before he could walk properly, he felt warm inside, not that he was about to admit it out loud. He felt Uncle Moony's hand on his shoulder and looked up, before returning his attention to his latest friend. "I think I've got to go. I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express?" Ron nodded.

"Can't wait." Harry grinned and allowed Remus to lead him from the shop. They were both surprised to find Sirius hadn't strayed very far at all and was merely leaning against the wall outside. He was surrounded by young girls and Harry looked bemused. Remus cocked an eyebrow at his friend and laughed, in their younger years it was certainly not unusual to find Sirius in the middle of a gaggle of girls, by the time they were fifteen he had his own fan club and many of the girls at Hogwarts had reached a stage where they either fancied James or Sirius. They would follow them around in large groups, Peter always basked in the attention whilst Remus shied away from it, he had no desire for the loud and excitable girls and had always been happier meeting girls of his own way of thinking in the library. He had, in fact, been the first of the marauders to actually get to know Lily, something she had told him she regretted immensely for by befriending Remus she had subsequently come to James' attention resulting in his long lasting obsession with her. She had gone as far as to blame Remus for the pain she had gone through whilst in labour with Harry.

Sirius, however, had never formed an obsession with any girl, true, he had pursued some longer than others, but that was more to do with thrill of the chase and his love for a challenge than anything else and generally he was happiest in a crowd, much like the one he was currently standing in, and had he still been seventeen he would probably be attempting to seduce each and every one of them. As it was, he was making casual conversation but seemed pleased to see Remus and Harry and eagerly met their eyes. The girls turned around and, upon seeing their professor, moved a considerable distance away from Sirius, who put his arm around Harry fatherly, looking pleased to have been granted an escape. The girls smiled sweetly and Remus avoided their eyes.

"Hello Professor Lupin."

"Hello girls."

"Fancy seeing you here, sir."

"Yes, fancy that." Remus mumbled, looking at Sirius for help. Sirius, however, did not look eager to assist, but whispered something to Harry and almost doubled over laughing.

"What're you doing here, professor?"

"Err, shopping. Come on Sirius, Harry, we better hurry up…"

"No rush Moony, my son." Sirius smirked. Remus fixed him with a look that would make stronger men than Sirius Black recoil in fear. Sirius, however, was both far too used to Remus and far too amused and merely continued to grin. Harry giggled, although he seemed uncertain what he was laughing at. The girls let their eyes flick from Sirius to Remus and back again, before settling their gaze on Harry who, feeling uncomfortable, faced away from them.

"Who's he then, sir?"

"Not your boyfriend is he, sir? You're not gay are you?" The girls looked almost desperate for him to say no, Sirius was laughing so hard that he could barely breathe, Remus was clearly confused as to why they were more often than not mistaken for a couple and swore under his breath before smiling kindly at the girls as he shook his head.

"No, no, this is my brother, and my nephew, and we really need to go because we've got an awful lot of things to buy."

"Oh." The girls looked considerably more cheerful and were still shouting goodbye to him, and informing him that they were looking forward to seeing him when school started again, long after they had walked away and were opening the door to Madam Malkin's. Sirius still hadn't stopped laughing but Harry's expression was set. He looked at Remus thoughtfully and then at Sirius, but said nothing. He remained silent all the while his robes were being fitted and didn't look very excited about his new uniform at all, which puzzled Remus as he had expected him to be overjoyed to find himself actually wearing the robes he would spend much of the rest of the year wearing. Instead he continued to stare into space until they left the shop, and remained much closer to Sirius than he did Remus, who frowned.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing Remus." Sirius stopped dead and looked at his godson, Remus too stared down at Harry, the fact that he'd called Remus by his given name was surprising enough, but it was more surprising that he had dropped the Uncle from the front of his name. Remus found it gave him an uncomfortable feeling somewhere within his chest, it felt incredibly painful. Sirius patted his friend's back reassuringly and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"What did you just call him?"

"Remus."

"Why?"

"It's his name." Harry said, meeting Sirius' eyes determinedly, his hands shoved into his jeans pockets, but he was deliberately avoiding making any eye contact with his honorary uncle.

"You've never called him Remus."

"Moony's not a real name."

"What happened to Uncle?"

"He's not my uncle." Sirius' eyes drifted to Remus, who was pointedly looking away, hiding his hurt. Sirius looked angry, which surprised Harry considerably, Sirius had never been angry with Harry, or if he had been he had never shown it, but then again, Harry had never been cold or unfeeling towards Remus, nor had he ever denied that they were a family, they had always been a family.

"Harry… I think you should apologise."

"What for? I'm only telling the truth, he's telling everyone I'm his nephew and I'm _not_. I'm not his nephew and he's not my uncle and he's not your brother and you're not my dad!" Harry's voice was raised and a few people began to stare at them but, other than to glare at a few of the more curious looking ones, Sirius ignored them. Harry folded his arms across his chest and Sirius ran a hand through his hair. He sighed.

"No one's saying otherwise, Harry."

"He is!" Remus sighed and looked at James and Lily's son, a paternal smile on his face.

"Harry, our family situation is complicated enough to explain… I'm not trying to force you to think of me as your real uncle, I'm just trying to make things a little bit easier." Harry nodded and looked up at Remus guiltily.

"I sound spoilt, don't I?"

"No…"

"Ungrateful?"

"Not at all." Harry fixed Remus with a disbelieving look that seemed far too old for him, one hand on his hip, Sirius smirked, Remus laughed and put a protective arm around the young boy.

"Okay then, maybe a tiny little bit. Come on, you can buy me an ice cream and make up for it."

"What flavour?" Sirius sighed in exasperation and shook his head at his godson.

"How long have you known him? Do you _really_ have to ask?" Remus rolled his eyes.

"I might surprise you."

"What flavour d'you want Uncle Moony?"

"Chocolate." Remus said with a smirk and walked on ahead before Sirius could announce that he had told Harry so.

**A/N: Oh dear, that appears to have gone in an entirely unplanned direction, therefore, unless I'm met with incredibly strong objections, I shall have to do a third Diagon Alley chapter.**

**Hope you enjoyed it anyway & reviewers can join the boys for ice cream!**


	26. To Buy A Wand

**A/N: Sighs dramatically I've got so many books to read it's not even funny. I know it's called a **_**reading**_** week, but I was hoping it wasn't literal. Still, I have escaped Hemingway (honestly, it's awful) and decided to update! Sorry it wasn't sooner but I could create a very long list of excuses… I shan't though, I shall just hold out the fic for you all to (hopefully) enjoy!**

**Thanks for reading & reviewing, as always.**

Harry kept shooting almost apologetic glances to Remus but he chose to ignore them, concentrating wholeheartedly on his chocolate ice cream whilst Sirius' attempted to appeal to two pretty witches around their own age who were sat at the next table. Remus kicked him. Sirius had a habit for this sort of behaviour, the incident with the girls outside Flourish and Blott's had not been an indication of Sirius' character but more of the fact that he had now matured enough not to try and seduce teenage girls.

Generally Remus didn't mind Sirius flirting, he wanted his friend to be happy after all and he deserved a little love in his life, however brief he intended on making it, but the fact that there was two girls, and two of them, meant that Sirius was making advances on Remus' behalf as well as his own, and Remus, frankly, wasn't interested. More to the point they still had Harry with him. Sirius was so interested in the girls he didn't notice Harry steal several spoonfuls of his ice cream until he turned back to take a bite. "Hey, what happened to my ice cream?"

"Probably flew into your wide open mouth, Padfoot, come on, Harry's still got things to buy."

"Can we go get my wand now?" The eleven year old ask, his eyes alight with the same excitement they had been shining with as they waited in the underground station that morning. Remus nodded, because Sirius was too busy fussing about his ice cream to notice, and rose to his feet. They were halfway out of the ice cream parlour before Sirius noticed and he appeared behind them looking mildly put out, but said nothing. They walked quietly to Ollivander's, Harry stopping to wave at Ron as they passed the Weasley family, and pushed the door open, only to be met by the face of Narcissa Malfoy, Sirius scowled, his cousin was the last person he wanted to see. She ran her eyes over him critically and let them rest on Harry for a moment or two. Sirius' own eyes, along with Harry's, came to rest on the young boy she was ushering out; he was a little taller than Harry and had obviously just purchased his first wand. Their silent exchange was brief, as Narcissa pushed the boy forward, hurrying him away from them. Harry looked up at Sirius, bemused.

"That was, uh, my cousin."

"Is she related to Andromeda?"

"She's her…sister…they, uh, they don't talk though. Not a very nice woman. I think her son's going to be in your year, probably every bit as vile as his parents. Looks it, doesn't he Moony?"

"Perhaps."

"Got that same self adoring air Cissy had when she started at Hogwarts. Came round the day before, nose in the air, telling me she was going to be the most beautiful witch Slytherin had ever seen. Bella cursed her."

"Jealous I suppose, Narcissa was always rather attractive." Sirius fixed him with a look. "Don't look at me like that; half our year was in love with her." Sirius scowled again.

"She was a sixth year."

"Increases the attraction." Remus was saved from further having to defend himself by a voice behind them.

"Ah, Mr Potter, I've been expecting to see you." Harry gawped at the old man behind them, taking in his frazzled appearance and his almost moon-like eyes that gave off an eery glow.

"How… how do you know my name?"

"How could I not, Mr Potter, how could I not?" Harry glanced at his guardians, who said nothing, and returned his gaze to the old man, who studied his forehead thoughtfully for a second and then snapped out of whatever trance he had fallen under. "Ollivander." He said, extending his hand. Harry shook it. "Wandmaker. It's a wand you're after, after all."

"Yes, sir." Harry said; Remus smiled, Sirius lounged against the only part of the wall not to be covered by a shelf filled with boxes of wands.

"Where to start… where to start… hmm, your father took a liking to a mahogany wand, rather flexible. Very good for transfiguration, I do believe he excelled at it." Whilst Mr Ollivander spoke he searched through the boxes on the shelves, eventually pulling one down. "Let's try you with this one then. Mahogany, of course, ten inches. Dragon heartstring."

He lay it Harry's hand, the young boy's face lit up with excitement at finally being able to try out a wand. He swished it forward. Nothing happened. Scowling he handed it back to Mr Ollivander. "No matter, Mr Potter, no matter. Now your mother, she favoured willow, perhaps that will suit you better." Harry looked nervously at his godfather, who offered him a lazy smile. Mr Ollivander turned from the shelves to study Sirius for a moment. "Ash and unicorn hair. Eleven inches." Sirius nodded.

"Still got it, actually." He pulled it out and fiddled with it almost lovingly."

"I should hope so. Took you long enough, after all, you were a rather tricky customer. But then, I suppose, I did try you with thirty three dragon heartstring wands."

"Black sheep of the Black family, me." Sirius said with a smile as Harry giggled at the thought of Sirius testing so many wands. Mr Ollivander turned to Remus.

"You were a willow, like Miss Evans. Ten inches… unicorn hair. But you've bought another since, oak and phoenix feather. Slightly longer, ten and a half. I remember every wand I sell." Remus nodded.

"Second attempt, both times. Very unusual. Still, it's the wand that chooses the wizard." He smiled and lifted a box from the shelf. "Right! Mr Potter!" He said suddenly, as though he had only just remembered Harry was there. He handed him the box. "Willow, eleven inches, unicorn hair. Your arm is rather short Mr Potter; we will have to keep to smaller wands." Harry tried not to feel offended and as he waved the wand through the air. A few boxes flew from the shelf and Mr Ollivander snatched the wand away hurriedly.

It felt as though they had been there for ages when, six wands later, Mr Ollivander handed him yet another wand, this time with a curious expression fixed across his face. "Holly and phoenix feather. Eleven inches. Perhaps this shall do the job."

A most unusual feeling came across Harry as he waved this holly and phoenix feather wand, a few sparks emitted from the end and Mr Ollivander smiled and returned it to the box. "Spectacular!"

"Spectacular?"

"Yes, this is the wand for you."

"At bloody last." Sirius mumbled, pushing himself off the wall.

"You can talk Mr thirty three dragon heartstrings." Remus said, with a smile. Mr Ollivander looked at Harry as he wrapped the box.

"Although, I must say Mr Potter, this is ever so curious."

"W…why?"

"This wand has a brother… as many wands do, but… I remember who I sold the brother too. Nearly sixty years ago now." He smiled at Harry's expression. "Yes, Mr Potter, I am a very old man. The boy was alone, and seemed eager to be so… but that's not what makes it so curious… the boy in question became the man who, well, the man who gave you the scar you're doing a very good job of hiding." Harry stared at him in shock. Mr Ollivander held out the package the wand was now wrapped inside. "Seven galleons please."

**A/N: I think my Ollivander's a bit… meh… but I don't have PS with me to reference from so I'm just going to hope that sounded okayish. Oo, looks like Remus & Sirius are going to have to have a chat with our young Mr Potter…**

**Reviews are nice. Very nice. **


	27. A Story They Had To Tell

**A/N: Thanks for reading & reviewing the last chapter, this chapter's not very cheerful although I think it could have been a lot more depressing than it actually is… hope you all enjoy it, anyway.**

Harry didn't say a word as they left the shop, nor for the entire journey home, when they arrived back at Grimmauld Place he retreated to his bedroom, Remus and Sirius exchanged looks but as neither was sure what to say to the other they separated wordlessly, Sirius making himself comfortable on the sofa with a muggle motorcycle magazine, Remus vacating to the sanctuary of the library.

Sirius couldn't concentrate on the magazine and flung it across the room, running a hand through his hair he let his eyes flick to a photo of Lily and James that stood upon the mantelpiece, he sighed at their happy, smiling faces as they waved at him. What would they do? How would _they_ explain to Harry that someone tried to kill him? They had told him so little, the bare minimum, he had gotten the scar the day his parents died, he was the only one that survived; it was an awful thing to have happened. The word murder had never come into it. Dark magic had never been mentioned. Harry had never asked too many questions because he understood that his parents were gone and he preferred not to talk about it. But now… now he knew that someone had physically given him the scar and he wasn't stupid, Sirius knew that, he could do the maths, he could work the rest out. There would be so many questions and they had never really discussed what to tell him and what to leave out.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Remus' presence in the doorway. They shared an awkward, defeated smile and his friend slumped down beside him, he too let his eyes drift to Lily and James' picture, he too sought answers in their laughing eyes, their permanent smiles, he too silently pleaded with their departed friends to tell them what to do. "I couldn't concentrate. He's going to ask Sirius. Soon."

"I know." Sirius dropped his head into his hands and closed his eyes. "We have to tell him. How can we tell him?"

"We knew it was coming, we'll just have to tell him the truth, start at the beginning."

"He's too young, Moony."

"It's too late for fairy stories Sirius; we can't keep lying to him."

"We've never lied. We just-"

"Never told him." Remus responded, sighing tiredly, he had aged years in just one afternoon.

"I wanted to wait." Sirius said quietly, a paternal pain giving a sorrowful edge to his tone. "I want him to be old enough to understand. I wanted it to be easier than this."

"It was never going to be easy Sirius and he'll never be old enough, we're over thirty and I still don't understand it, how anyone could…"

"Don't say it."

"Someone's got to, Sirius, we've danced around it for ten years, we've grieved and we've been angry, we've been hurting and we've accepted they're gone but we've never, ever _said_ those words."

"If we say it, it makes it real."

"It's always been real, Padfoot, it's been real for us and it's been real for Harry, even if he doesn't know it yet."

"So what do we tell him?"

"The question should be what don't we tell him." Remus answered, biting his lip lightly, his eyebrows furrowed as he considered what to do. Sirius fixed him with a look and he sighed again. "We don't want to upset him more than we should, there's thing he doesn't need to know…"

"Peter?"

"Exactly." Sirius nodded in agreement, the idea of their one time friend having betrayed them was painful enough for him to deal with without it being passed over to their godson, Harry didn't need that upon his young shoulders as well, it was likely that Harry, who had inherited short tempers from both of his parents, would be gunning for Peter's blood, and they did not want to risk him doing anything stupid. No, it would be better not to mention him at all.

They sat in silence for a while, each contemplating all that had gone on and all that they had yet to face. Harry was still so young and innocent and they were about to pull his world out from underneath him, Sirius vowed, not for the first time, that if he ever laid eyes upon Peter Pettigrew again he would kill him; with his bare hands if necessary. The guilt that had shrouded him following Lily and James' deaths had faded, but his anger towards Peter had not. Every birthday and Christmas, every new stage of Harry's life, every time he laughed, every time he cried, Sirius cursed Peter because Lily and James were missing their boy's life and he had become such a wonderful person. They would have been so proud to know him and it hurt to know they would never see his cheeky, slightly crooked smile, they would never watch his eyes flash with excitement beneath his glasses as he ticked off another day on his wall, counting down until he started Hogwarts.

He bit back the tears that welled every time he thought of his friends, it had been nearly ten years and it didn't get any easier, he still resented not even getting to say goodbye and he would still gladly give up his life for them to return and be with their boy, who needed them so much, more than he even knew. Blinking away the liquid clouding his vision Sirius turned to see Harry standing in the doorway.

"T-tell…tell me wh-what he… he meant… ab-about…my….my scar?" Harry's eyes were red and his cheeks were tear stained, Sirius crossed the room and took him into his arms without question, Harry rested his head beneath his godfather's just as he had when he was five. After a while he pulled back and sat down next to Remus, resting his head against him and fixing his eyes upon Sirius, who swallowed hard before kneeling in front of him.

"Not all wizards are good, Harry." He said softly. Harry didn't even blink. "And I know we've explained this to you before, but it's where it all starts." Harry nodded, still staring at Sirius, desperate for answers. "A few years ago… well, quite a long time ago… when me and Uncle Moony and your parents were younger than you are now a wizard started to… to gather followers…"

"What sort of followers?"

"Other wizards mostly, other wizards who thought the way he did. And this wizard, he… well, he thought that muggles and muggleborn wizards weren't, well, weren't as good as he was-"

"But my mum was a muggleborn." Harry whispered, looking scared. Sirius nodded and Remus rubbed the small boy's arm softly.

"He did some very cruel things to a lot of people and it was getting worse as we got older, we weren't even old enough to understand what was going on, but he was getting very powerful and people were disappearing, people were being…killed…"

"Why didn't anyone stop him?" Harry looked from Sirius to Remus accusingly.

"People tried. But…anyone who stood up to him ended up dead…"

"Did my parents stand up to him?" Sirius didn't answer immediately, but eventually gave a small nod. Harry bowed his head slightly before looking at Sirius, silently asking him to continue.

"A war started and we… your dad and I… we wanted to fight." Harry nodded.

"Uncle Moony too? And my mum?"

"Uncle Moony, yes. But not your mum, not right away. So… James and I, we started training to be aurors, and your parents got married and they were happy, I was best man and I made an awful speech and your mum didn't speak to me for two whole weeks." Harry smiled, despite himself. "But the war was getting worse and we all wanted to do something, we decided that we were in as much danger not fighting as we would be if we stood up for the cause and so we decided to fight."

"All of you?"

"All of us. And we were lucky, very lucky, because he never got us, he nearly did, more than once, but we stayed safe, we had each other, we had something to fight for, so he wasn't going to get us."

"But he did. He got them."

"Your mum got pregnant with you and they moved away, they were hiding, to keep you safe, but he… the dark wizard, he didn't forget about them… and nobody lived if he decided to kill them."

"And he found them?" Sirius nodded, struggling not to let his emotions through, he would not cry in front of Harry, he had decided that a long time ago.

"He found them. They put up a fight but…" Sirius closed his eyes for a moment, taking in a few deep breaths before opening them again. "Then he turned his wand on you."

"On me?" Harry's eyes were wide with a mixture of confusion and fear. "Why?"

"Nobody knows."

"But I'm not dead; you said… you said nobody lived if he decided he was going to kill them."

"Nobody did." Sirius paused, in hindsight he thought it was probably for some sort of dramatic effect. "Except you."

"What happened?"

"No one knows, something about you got to him, he couldn't kill you, it didn't work... the only thing he left you with was your scar." Harry unconsciously touched his forehead lightly.

"What happened to him? The one who killed my parents?"

"He disappeared. A lot of people thought he was dead, most still do."

"Do you think he is?"

"Probably not, he's probably hiding somewhere… weak, destroyed…" Harry nodded and sat silently for quite a while, taking it all in. He looked at them after a while.

"Wh…what was his name?"

"He called himself Lord Voldemort, but not many wizards will say his name." Remus said softly.

"Why not?"

"Scared, I suppose." Sirius said, with a non-committal shrug. Harry nodded and rose to his feet, looking as though he had had more than enough for one day, he walked towards the stairs quietly and turned on the bottom step.

"Were my parents too scared to say him name?"

"No. No, your parents were brave Harry, so brave."

"That's why they were in Gryffindor." Harry said quietly. "I'm not brave enough for Gryffindor, am I?"

"You've been braver than any eleven year old I've ever met Harry, but we'll be proud of you no matter what. And so will your parents." Harry smiled lightly, despite the pain of everything that was running through his head. His guardians watched him ascend the stairs tiredly and, without words, they turned to look at Lily and James' photograph, an unspoken conversation taking place between them, and between the image of their friends, silently congratulating themselves for making it past yet another hurdle, thanking any God listening that they had made it through and that, deep down, Harry was going to be okay.

**A/N: The next chapter's already in progress & Hogwarts is getting closer, but as my muse is fed by reviews…**

**Thanks for reading :)**


	28. Initiation

**A/N: I've decided to move my other plan for Harry's summer holidays, probably to his Christmas holidays, partially because I've been dragging it out for far too long, partially because I want to get him to Hogwarts & partially because I think if he's at Hogwarts I'll be able to update a lot faster because I've got quite a few ideas to be getting on with. So… last part before Hogwarts!**

**Thanks for reading & reviewing the last chapter!**

The summer drifted by all too fast for Sirius and all too slowly for Harry. The days following their conversation about Voldemort had been difficult, so many things were unsaid, Remus explained to Harry about his fame; that everyone in the wizarding world knew his name, and as time went on and he came to terms with all he had learned as best he could, it became something they didn't need to mention. Now August had drawn to a close, Harry's trunk was packed, Prongs' cage had been cleaned and polished, Harry's clothes for the following day, which he had spent several long minutes deliberating over, were laid out on his desk, ready for him to change into early the next morning, the Hogwarts Express ticket was lying on top of them, his shoes had been neatly polish and everything was set for his departure.

Sirius was trying his best not to sulk, he knew he would miss Harry but he would be seeing him at Christmas and they would write to each other regularly. Remus had suggested he get a job, but Sirius was none too fond of that idea. Andromeda had suggested he get a wife, but he was even less fond of that plan. Nymphadora had suggested a hobby, but he had non too kindly informed her that he was not twelve. But he knew he'd find a way to pass the time; perhaps paint Remus' bedroom bright pink, with a mural of Severus Snape on the wall opposite his bed. That was a plan he would happily instigate, his inner marauder had been begging to be let loose for months.

He was lying on the sofa trying to decide which charm to use to prevent Remus removing the mural once he had painted it when Harry walked in, smiling awkwardly. "Sirius?"

"Yeah?" He sat up.

"What you doing?"

"Plotting Uncle Moony's downfall." Harry looked bemused. Sirius barked a laugh. "Don't worry. What's wrong?" Harry shrugged.

"Uncle Moony's cooking and I've packed all my stuff so I was a bit bored and I thought maybe you could tell me some more stuff about Hogwarts…if you're not busy."

"Nope, not busy…actually!" He sprung to his feet. "I can't believe I almost forgot!" He raced from the room leaving a bewildered Harry standing in the living room wondering what had just happened, only for his godfather to bound back into the room. "Harry James Potter, it is time to initiate you into the clan Marauder."

"What're you talking about…?" Harry stared at Sirius as though he had grown an extra head.

"Moony!" Sirius called. He got no response. "Moony!" There was still nothing. "MOONY!" He bellowed. Harry continued to stare at his godfather, considering whether or not he truly had lost his sanity. Remus stuck his head around the door.

"Problem?"

"You're going to miss Harry's initiation."

"Oh you aren't going to force him to endure that stupid ceremony you and James made us go through when we were fifteen…"

"He'll _love_ it."

"What's going on?" Harry asked, his expression blank.

"Sirius has gone mad." Remus supplied. Harry grinned.

"Ahem!" Sirius bellowed and lay a folded piece of parchment out upon the coffee table. "I, Sirius Orion Black-" he pulled a face at his own middle name "- Mr Padfoot, of the Hogwarts Marauders, open the clan Marauder for the acceptance of Harry James Potter, son of James Henry Potter, Mr Prongs of the afore mentioned Hogwarts Marauders-."

"Really Sirius, is this necessary?"

"Yes, perfectly, I've been looking forward to this since the day Lily told us she was pregnant."

"You have not, Lily thought he was girl and you refused to allow any initiation if he was."

"I've been looking forward to this since the day we found out that I was godfather to a fine _boy_ marauder, now, _say it_."

"I, Remus John Lupin, Mr Moony of the Hogwarts Marauders accept Harry James Potter, into the clan Marauder." Remus said, flatly, rolling his eyes. "And since when have we been a _clan_?"

"Clans are Scottish." Sirius shrugged. "Hogwarts is in Scotland."

"Can someone _please_ tell me what's going on?" Harry asked, still looking as baffled as he had when the 'ceremony' had begun. Sirius tapped the parchment he had lain out with his wand.

"Listen carefully Harry." He paused. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry watched in wonderment as handwriting crept across the parchment. Handwriting, in fact, that he recognised as Remus'. He watched it closely and read carefully; _Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, purveyors of aids to magic mischief makers, are proud to present The Marauder's Map._ He stared, open mouthed, it was obviously a map but there were names on it. Names that were _moving_. He read the names _Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Poppy Pomfrey, Argus Filch_, there were several others but staring at it for too long was hurting his eyes.

"Your teachers." Sirius said. "Are those dots moving around. They're all there already, except Uncle Moony. When you arrive tomorrow there'll be hundreds of dots on the map, all moving around, the map shows everyone and everything at Hogwarts."

"Where did you get it?"

"Get it? We _made_ it. Me, James and Uncle Moony." Harry was awestruck. Sirius explained the story of the Marauder's Map, how they had decided they knew more about Hogwarts than any other students and how they had decided to make a map, showing everything they had found, and how James had said it would be great if they could show people on there too. He told him how Remus had told them they _could_ do that, and how they had spent weeks working on it, and how the finished product had stopped them getting caught sneaking around school for their last two years, and how they had added on new passageways and extended the map the more they discovered.

"Who's Wormtail?" Harry asked innocently. Sirius' heart leapt into his throat with fear, but Remus smiled slightly, he had foreseen this problem.

"He was at school with us, but he fell prey to Voldemort…." He trailed off, if he left it hanging in the air there was no lie, he had fallen prey to Voldemort, he just hadn't been killed. Harry nodded and didn't question it further.

"This map is _brilliant._"

"Well." Said Remus. "I don't know you have it, okay?" He winked lightly and Harry's head swivelled from Remus to Sirius and back again.

"_I_ have it? I can _keep_ it?"

"It's only right, first born junior marauder. Do us proud."

"But don't get into too much trouble, Harry, I'm not entirely sure some of your teachers don't know about the map, we weren't always subtle, after all. We lost it, actually, Sirius had to pilfer it back from Filch's office when you were living at Hogwarts." Harry nodded, grinning for all he was worth. Sirius tapped the map again.

"Mischief managed." The map vanished, the parchment was blank again. "Here." Sirius handed it to him. "Take good care of my baby."

"Sirius, are you talking to Harry or the map?"

"Both." He said with a grin. Harry and Remus laughed heartily.

"I think Sirius _has_ gone mad, Uncle Moony."

**A/N: Next stop, platform 9 ¾!**


	29. The Journey Begins

**A/N: Thanks for reading & reviewing everyone!**

Harry was so excited about finally going to Hogwarts that he didn't even protest at the suggestion he travel by floo powder. With some coaxing from Remus he consented to leave the map in his trunk and to wait until he was on the train before changing into his uniform, his wand, however, was sitting comfortably in his back pocket. Sirius hauled Harry's trunk into the living room and placed it into the grate with some difficulty, he pulled Remus' over and lay it behind Harry's own, ready for Remus to bring along with him.

It was hard to tell whether Sirius or Harry was more nervous as they left the small shop they had flooed to, the manager mumbling about hating days like these, Harry was uncharacteristically quiet and concentrated only on not dropping Prongs as his small hands shook, Sirius was looking around him as though he half expected them to be stopped, but as they arrived at King's Cross both discontinued their actions, Sirius lifted both trunks onto a trolley and placed the owl's cage on top of it and Harry began looking around excitedly, hoping for a glance of another Hogwarts student.

"Merlin, there's muggles _everywhere_!" Sirius said as he pushed the trolley ahead of them, Remus laughed.

"It's always been like this Sirius, didn't you ever notice before?" Sirius shook his head.

"Always apparated right onto the platform, my parents weren't going to go anywhere near muggles, were they?"

"No, I don't suppose they would have." Remus said as they arrived on platform nine, Harry looked bewildered.

"Where _is_ it?"

"Right this way, Mr Potter." Sirius said with a smirk as he walked towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten and promptly disappeared.

"Where'd he go? Did he apparate?" Remus chuckled and shook his head, remembering fondly his first time reaching Platform 9 ¾ , his parents had suggested he try to find it himself and he had been incredibly bemused, but he was clever, even then, and had worked it out eventually, racing through the barrier with a whoop of joy and promptly crashing into a small girl, who he later discovered to be Lily Evans.

A group of fourth year students waved at him as they passed, walking towards the barrier and disappearing, just as Sirius had done. Harry still looked puzzled, but took a determined step towards the barrier, swallowing a thick lungful of air he raced through, careering into Sirius who laughed wholeheartedly and helped steady his godson onto his feet. "Oops." Harry mumbled, adjusting his glasses and hoping none of his future classmates had seen.

"Harry!" A voice behind him called, he span around to see the boy from the bookshop standing beside the train with his younger sister, a grin on his face and dirt on his nose. Harry beamed.

"Ron, hello!"

"Are you excited? I'm a bit nervous, but don't tell Fred and George that. They're over there." He indicated with his thumb. "Mum's giving them an ear bashing because they charmed our older brother Percy's prefect badge to said rude words."

"Your brother's a prefect." Ron nodded.

"My other brothers were too, but they've left Hogwarts now."

"How many brothers do you have?" Harry asked, feeling quite overwhelmed, he had never really thought about having a brother, or a sister, come to think of it, he couldn't imagine what it would be like to have so many siblings, it had always just been him. He wasn't attention seeking and he wasn't selfish so he didn't imagine it would be that bad, but he had always had Sirius to play with so he'd never been bored. He wondered silently to himself if he would ever have had any brothers or sisters had Voldemort not murdered his parents.

"Five." He sighed sadly. "Do you have any?"

"No…no, just me." He decided not to say anything else about his lack of siblings, he didn't want Ron asking too many questions and he wasn't really sure he wanted to talk about it anyway.

"Right Harry." Sirius said suddenly. "We better get your trunk onto the train before it leaves." His voice seemed forced somehow and Harry wondered if he was okay, he simply nodded and walked towards the train with Ron, Sirius lifted the trunk on for him and let the boys haul it into a nearby compartment whilst he reflected quietly, it felt as though part of him was dying because it was the end of an era, Harry was off to Hogwarts and when he came back in three months time he could be a completely different boy from the one he was about to say goodbye to. He was reflecting from past experiences, he had believed in his parents' ideals and pureblood tradition until he had arrived at Hogwarts, until he was sorted into Gryffindor, if Harry was in Slytherin it would change him completely, that scared him more than anything. Remus patted him on the back.

"He's going to be fine."

"I'll miss him."

"I know." Remus paused before giving Sirius a brief, brotherly hug. "I'll make sure he writes."

"Then I've got to write back." The crack in Sirius' voice was noticeable, despite his efforts to hide it.

"Don't cry, Padfoot."

"I'm _not_ going to…it's just…he's our Harry, and now he's growing up…"

"Sirius, we are not an old married couple and you are not his mother, honestly, I'm starting to see why people think you're gay."

"Oi." He mumbled, but it was half hearted, Harry jumped off the train just as the whistle blew, he threw himself into Sirius' arms.

"I'm going to miss you." Harry said, a sadness in his eyes.

"It's only 'til Christmas, and Uncle Moony'll be there."

"But _you_ won't." He said, and Sirius' heart broke, they had both become used to Remus being at Hogwarts for nine months a year, it was normal and it was accepted, but they had always had each other around, it was going to be odd, for both of them. Sirius hugged his godson tightly.

"You better go. Write to me when you get sorted, don't work too hard, stay away from purebloods and keep an eye on Neville!" Sirius ushered Harry onto the train and shut the door behind him. He stuck his head out of the window and waved, Remus disappeared through the next door with a nod of the head and soon the train was moving away, speeding away from London and towards Hogwarts. Harry waved until Sirius was just a dot in the distance. He sank back into the compartment and sat opposite Ron.

"Looks like your dad's going to miss you." Ron said, offering a smile.

"Probably, but he's not…" Harry trailed off, Sirius was the closest thing to a dad he had and the guilt from his outburst in Diagon Alley still lingered within him.

"It's okay if you miss him too. But we'll be having loads of fun at Hogwarts, it'll be great! I can't _wait_ for the quidditch cup! Gryffindor haven't won in years and first years never get to be on the team but it'll be fun to watch anyway! Do you like quidditch? Who do you support?" Before Harry could answer he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Okay to come in Harry…? I.. I haven't seen any other first years and I've already lost Trevor…Gran's going to _kill _me. I'm hopeless." Harry pulled Neville's trunk into the compartment and nodded for him to sit down, allowing him to continue. "I'm going to be in Hufflepuff, I just know it." He said, looking painfully defeated.

"Tonks was in Hufflepuff and she's _brilliant_." Harry informed Neville, hoping to cheer him up.

"Gran'll disown me if I'm not in Gryffindor." He replied, miserably.

"Sirius said he'd sell me to gypsies…" Harry felt equally anxious.

"I think my brothers would chop my head off." Ron groaned. "Can we talk about something else?"


	30. On The Threshold

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who read & reviewed the last chapter! & I would just like to say THIRTY chapters! I didn't think it'd get anywhere near this many chapters… and he's only just at Hogwarts, God knows how many it'll finish on!**

**TT – I don't want to give too much away about my plans for the plotline, but I am changing it, yeah. & here's Hermione!**

**Mush – You'll have to wait & see what house Harry's going to be in, sorry, the sorting's coming in the next chapter! I'm not sure about the Hedwig thing, I just gave Harry Prongs the owl that long ago that I didn't even consider poor Hedwig!**

The train sped out of London and eventually all talk of quidditch died out, they lazily ate their way through a large amount of snacks they had purchased from the trolley as it had passed, not talking about anything with real consequence. It had been a fair few hours when the compartment door slid open and the boy that Harry had seen leaving Ollivander's with Sirius' cousin walked in, his head was held high. He was flanked by two boys more than twice his size, each as gormless as the other, Harry wondered for a moment if they were half troll. The boy ran his eyes first over Neville and then Ron, before his eyes settled on Harry.

"Potter." He said, with an air of self-importance that Harry found very unnerving. He shrank back into his seat at the mention of his surname, he was hoping to keep his identity a secret at least until they arrived at Hogwarts, he was still very unsure of his past and didn't want to face too many questions. Ron's eyes became wide with surprise.

"Potter? You're _Harry Potter_?!" Harry simply nodded, avoiding his friend's eye, what if Ron didn't want to be friends with an orphan? What if he would be too scared to be friends with the boy who lived? The pale boy stepped towards him, extending a hand, Harry blinked behind his glasses.

"Draco Malfoy." Harry stared at his hand, unwilling to shake it.

"I know who you are." He met Malfoy's eyes with a confidence he didn't know lay within him.

"Of course." Malfoy said, still maintaining a look of superiority. "How could you not." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Sirius had been right, this boy did think very highly of himself, Harry found it aggravating and, glancing at Ron and Neville, he got the impression his friends did too.

"You're mother's related to my-" He said, his chin raised, his eyes still fixed to Malfoy's. The taller boy cut him off.

"Yes. Unfortunate that. He is the white sheep of the Black family, so to speak. Mother says it's hideous, imagine it, he was in Gryffindor and everything. But then-" He lowered his hand, his eyes narrowing with disgust. "I suppose that's where you're planning on heading."

"You can go now." Harry said, a splattering of the Gryffindor courage he hadn't been sure he had beaming through and hitting Malfoy square in the face. He curled his nose in disgust.

"Enjoy life with the mudbloods, Potter." He spat, venomously. Harry watched him leave, seething silently, his mother had been a muggleborn and the thought of anyone calling her a mudblood made his own blood boil, but he knew it wouldn't be wise to get into a fight before they even got to Hogwarts. He slumped further back in his seat and turned to look at Ron apprehensively.

"You're Harry Potter." Ron said, still looking stunned. Harry nodded again, wondering if this was the reaction he would receive from everyone at Hogwarts. "Can I see the…scar…?" Harry hesitated for a moment; he didn't like people staring at his scar. But this was Ron, and he was his friend. He let out a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding and lifted his fringe. Ron beamed. "_Wicked._"

Ron didn't ask Harry any questions and he was very grateful for it, the conversation turned back to quidditch and, as the train pulled into Hogsmeade station at last, it returned to the impending sorting. The boys became more and more miserable as they made their way off the train. Remus approached Harry quietly, laying a hand upon his shoulder. Harry looked up.

"Uncle Moon- Professor Lupin…hello." He smiled.

"I should be heading up to the school, but I wanted to wish you luck." Harry nodded, still looking despondent at the thought of being placed in Slytherin. "Don't look like that Harry, Sirius and I will love you whatever house you're in."

"He said he'd sell me to-"

"He'll love you no matter what, Harry, whatever he said." Harry still looked doubtful. Remus let out a soft sigh and tilted the boy's chin softly so that their eyes locked, he hadn't wanted to reveal this particular secret, Sirius would be disgusted if he found out, but he felt the need to console his best friend's son. "When you mother started Hogwarts her best friend was in Slytherin, she stayed friends with him for years after that. Your parents would have forgiven you for being in Slytherin; and so will we, it doesn't matter to us, all that matters is that you're happy."

"I won't be happy if I let you down."

"You could never let us down." Harry nodded again, he didn't look as though he wholly believed Remus but his mood had at least lifted slightly. Remus offered a reassuring smile to Neville. "And don't you worry about it either; your grandmother will do well to proud of you, whatever house you're in." His eyes flicked to Ron, who had turned a worrying shade of green. "And as for you, I'll make sure your brothers don't hex you. Now, all three of you, get round and get in a boat, I'll see you at the feast. Good luck." He gave Harry a brief nod and disappeared in the direction most of the students were walking in. He spun his head as he heard his name called and ran full pelt towards Hagrid upon seeing him.

"Hello Hagrid." He grinned, feeling much more cheerful. Neville appeared by his side, having met Hagrid before he was unperturbed and smiled up at the half giant. Ron hung back but Harry seized him by his arm, tugging him forward. "This is Ron. Ron Weasley."

"Another Weasley? Not as much trouble as your brothers, I hope?" He chuckled loudly and pointed them in the direction of several boats, most of which were already filled with their fellow first years. The three of them joined a bushy haired girl in the nearest boat; she smiled awkwardly at them all and looked slightly lost. Harry, remembering Sirius' stories of his own first year, and the importance of making friends, extended a hand to her once they had all sat down.

"I'm Harry." He paused. "Harry Potter."

"Are you really?" She whispered, her eyes wide. Harry nodded. "I've read all about you, you're in a lot of books, did you know?"

"No…I didn't." He smiled weakly.

"Oh. Well, you are." She paused, shaking his hand as though she had only just noticed it. "I'm Hermione Granger." She looked past him, first to Neville and then to Ron, who she regarded with an uneasy look, as though she didn't appreciate his dirty face and his messy hair, which amused Harry, because his hair was about seven times messier than Ron's was. "And you two are…?"

"N…Neville…. Neville Longbottom." The girl, Hermione, offered him an encouraging smile and her gaze turned to Ron.

"Ron Weasley."

"You have dirt on your nose." She told him, in a way that Harry suspected wasn't intentionally unfriendly. She turned back to Harry. "Is it true that your mum was a muggleborn?"

"Um….yeah…" Harry said, looking puzzled and hoping she wasn't going to take the same attitude the Malfoy boy had. She didn't. She smiled shyly.

"I'm a muggleborn. I didn't even know there were witches and wizards until I got my letter! I was a bit worried I wouldn't know anything so I've read as many books as I can, but your mum was a really good witch, wasn't she? I read it in one of the history books, and if she was a muggleborn then I don't suppose it really makes a difference, does it?" Harry shrugged, and wondered how she could say so many words one after the other without stopping to breathe. "What house do you all want to be in? I read the descriptions in Hogwarts: A History and found out about some famous witches and wizards who'd been in the houses. Slytherin sounds absolutely frightful! I think Gryffindor sounds rather the best, Dumbledore was one. But I wouldn't complain about being in Ravenclaw. I don't really have much to go by the though, because I was talking to some second years on the train and they said there's a lot family lines in certain houses, so I suppose you'll all already have an idea where you could be headed?" She stopped, staring at them worriedly. "What's wrong? You've all gone a funny colour."


	31. The Sorting

Hogwarts, Harry decided as they clambered out of the boats and stared up at the enormous castle before them, was simply _magical_. Not magical in a way that had anything to do with witches and wizards, it was magical in the way that it made him feel warm inside just by being there, he took one look at it and, mouth agape, decided he hadn't seen anything more spectacular in all his life, and that it looked even more amazing than he remembered it looking. Hermione was whispering to them all the things she learned about their new school by reading Hogwarts: A History, Ron was doing goldfish impressions and Neville looked completely spellbound.

They followed Hagrid into the castle, taking everything in as they did so, Harry reached out to touch the cold stone wall, it felt just as it always had, but then he supposed there was no reason for it to have changed. He swallowed hard as he watched his classmates take in the entrance hall with wonderment, trying to ignore the empty feeling inside his stomach, the feeling that was reminding him that this time Hogwarts would be a home without Sirius. He tried instead, to concentrate on what Professor McGonagall was telling them about the sorting. He knew what would happen, of course, Remus had explained it to him, but he still felt it was important to pay some attention. "-your house will be like your family." _Family._ The word resounded in his head. His family was always going to be mismatched, he thought, but he hoped that this family he would have at Hogwarts would have Ron in it and Neville too. He hoped that this family wouldn't have Draco Malfoy, or either of his companions in it, and he hoped that they would like him; he had never spent much time with people his own age, and found the whole idea of living with them quite intimidating.

Professor McGonagall suddenly indicated that they should follow her and Harry realised that he had stopped listening again. He followed his classmates into the Great Hall, trying not to look at the tables on either side of them, which were filled with hundreds of students and which gave him a very odd, queasy feeling deep in his stomach. Everyone turned to look at a ragged hat that was sat on a stool in front of the High Table, Harry imagined this was the sorting hat. Everyone listened silently to the song it began to sing. When it was finished, all eyes moved to focus on the huddle of first years.

They all stood very close together, Ron and Neville stood on either side of Harry and Hermione was on Neville's side, she appeared to have stopped breathing and all the colour had gone from Neville's face. Ron was muttering to himself and Harry kept his eyes firmly fixed on the stool in front of them. He didn't hear the first names being called and barely registered the cheers for each house as a new student was sorted. It wasn't until he heard the call of;

"Granger, Hermione!" That he snapped out of his reverie and concentrated, she was shaking slightly as she walked towards it, Harry offered her a weak smile and after a few moments the hat bellowed "GRYFFINDOR!" Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards the table, sitting beside one of the Weasley twins, who shook her hand a little too enthusiastically. Harry listened as Daphne Greengrass was sorted into Slytherin, Wayne Hopkins and Megan Jones were became Hufflepuffs and Su Li joined the Ravenclaw table, before Neville's name was called. He gave his friend a gentle shove forward and watched as he placed the hat upon his head, closing his eyes tight shut in fear. After what seemed like forever the hat bellowed the word Neville had been longing to hear. "GRYFFINDOR!" Despite himself, Harry gave out a whoop of joy for his friend, who flushed scarlet. Harry's eyes flicked to the staff table and he noticed Remus laughing at him. But Harry was feeling more confident; he rested an elbow on Ron's shoulder. Ron didn't seem to notice but was chanting quietly.

However, as the Ls drifted into the Ms which turned into Ns Harry's stomach began doing somersaults. There were no Os, he noticed, as an unpleasant looking girl named Pansy Parkinson was sorted into Slytherin. He held his breath; it wouldn't be much longer… Patil...Patil…Perks… "Potter, Harry!" The Great Hall suddenly fell silent; Harry felt every pair of eyes on him. He swallowed hard and sat on the stool, letting the hat drop over his eyes and praying with all his might not to be put in Slytherin. Suddenly he heard a voice in his ear.

"Not Slytherin. But you were raised by a Black." Harry was puzzled, how did the hat know that? "All in your head." It said, answering his silent question. "But where to put you? Talent, brains… Ravenclaw?" Harry didn't think anything. Ravenclaw would be better than Slytherin, he supposed. But Neville was in Gryffindor… "Friendship. Loyalty… what about Hufflepuff?" Oh, Sirius would have a heart attack, Harry thought. But still, better than Slytherin. "No, you're still not happy with that. Stubborn, I see. Brave, and chivalrous too." Then put me in Gryffindor, Harry thought, feeling frustrated. "Are you sure?" _Yes_. "Gryffindor it is then." The hat bellowed the word and there was an explosion from the Gryffindor table, which he walked towards, slumping down next to Neville with a stunned look on his face. The Weasley twins flashed him identical grins, he let his eyes drift back to the High Table, where Remus winked at him. He smiled, feeling more relieved than he had ever done in his life. He watched patiently, feeling nervous for Ron, whilst Fred and George, who were sat opposite him, discussed ways of torturing their little brother if he happened to be sorted anywhere but Gryffindor. Their planning was pointless, of course, the second the hat touched Ron's head it called for him to be placed with his brothers and he eagerly placed himself on Harry's other side.

Dumbledore rose once the sorting was complete, welcoming his new students, and seconds later the serving plates in front of them were piled high. They talked and they ate, time flew by and Harry felt comfortable and content. He felt a warm, familiar hand on his shoulder and span round to grin at Remus, who smiled.

"I'm going to write to Sirius." Harry looked puzzled, he couldn't wait to tell his godfather he was in Gryffindor, he didn't need it done for him. "I want to tell him you're in Hufflepuff."

**A/N: Ah, the predictability of Gryffindor. It was tempting to put him in Hufflepuff, just to be original, but I had never intended for him to be anywhere other than where he belongs.**

**Hope you enjoyed that anyway, not my best work (I have a feeling I'll read it back in the morning & rewrite the whole thing) and sorry for the length (or lack of it). **

**If you read it, please review, it's very much appreciated!**


	32. Letters and Memories

A/N: Thanks to everyone who read & reviewed the last chapter! Very much appreciated, sorry for the slight delay on this one.

Um... wanted to say something about today being Remembrance Sunday...not quite sure what to say, but I felt like I should say something. Never such innocence again.

Sirius could remember ever having been more bored. He hadn't been alone in almost ten years and the house seemed much larger now he was alone, he sang loudly as he wandered around the house, hoping to hear his own voice echoing through the rooms, adding some sort of volume to his life. He spent a large amount of time in Harry's bedroom, feeling empty without his godson to entertain him. He studied the pictures on the wall and looked through Harry's comics.

Feeling bored and lonely he moved to sit in the living room, putting his feet up on the coffee table and staring through the open window, looking for a sign of Prongs and of news from the sorting. It must have taken place by now; it was nearing midnight, why hadn't Harry written to him? He had promised to let his godfather know which house he was in as soon as the sorting was over. But there was no sign of Prongs, instead Remus' eagle owl Coco came sweeping into the room and dropped a letter at his feet before flying off to Remus' room in search of water.

He examined the script on the front of the letter. _Sirius Black_. But it wasn't Harry's messy handwriting, it was Remus', each letter perfectly formed as though he were writing a love letter to the parchment. Why had Remus written and not Harry? It seemed odd, to say the least. He slit the envelope open slowly and quickly scanned the letter, looking for news of Harry's house. The word shouted out at him and he tried to hide his bitter disappointment from himself as he saw it._ Hufflepuff._ He read it again, just to make sure._Harry is in Hufflepuff._ Scowling, he reread the letter a further three times before flopping back into his seat.

_Padfoot,_

_Are you sitting down? If not I suggest that you do so. Also, Harry has requested that I inform you not to have a heart attack while I relay the sorting hat's decision to you. It is of no great consequence, I have assured our young charge of this, but, I must inform you all the same, as he is too fearful to do so himself. Harry is in Hufflepuff._

_There is no need for over reaction, and please do not inform him of your disappointment, he is abject enough already. He has apologised, and he may write to you himself after I have done so. Be gentle with him, and thankful he was not placed in Slytherin._

_Your dearest (and only) companion,_

_Remus._

He chewed on his lip. At least it wasn't Slytherin. But something still nagged at the back of his mind. Remus was known for being incredibly ridiculous but the letter seemed a little too flowery, even for him. Perhaps… but, no, Remus would never play a practical joke on his own best friend. That, he was certain, was against the Marauder's Unwritten Code of Honour. He sighed and laid the letter down, considering going to get some parchment in order to write back, but he wasn't quite sure what to say and he decided that before he did anything else he would need a fire whiskey or two.

He rose, intending on going to the kitchen to find where Remus had hidden the alcohol, just as he reached the door, Prongs swept by him, dropping a letter to the ground in front of him before swooping off, probably to find Coco. He bent down to lift it up and recognised the handwriting instantly as his godson's. He leaned against the doorframe to read it.

_Sirius,_

_If you already have Uncle Moony's letter I hope you don't hate me. If you don't then don't worry, I'm not in Slytherin. But I'm not in Gryffindor either. I'm sure Hufflepuff will be very nice though, and someone said their quidditch team's been doing better than the Gryffindor one has._

_Love, Harry._

_P.S. Neville's in Gryffindor. Could you owl his gran to tell her?_

Sirius grimaced. Why was it that Neville was in Gryffindor and Harry in Hufflepuff? It struck him as very odd, but he was even more certain that his godson wouldn't lie to him than he was that Remus wouldn't try to trick him so, accepting that there was nothing he could do, he picked up some parchment and thought about what to write. Pausing, he looked back at Harry's letter. It was much less fearful than his own had been when he wrote home, his mother had already known, of course, his cousins couldn't keep their mouths shut and Narcissa had fled the great hall and sent the family out with an apologetic letter immediately after the sorting. His mother hadn't written a letter telling him that it didn't matter, though, Sirius reflected as he penned a reassuring letter to James' son, informing him that he still loved him and that he was certain he would have a wonderful time at school, despite being in Hufflepuff.

The letter, or rather, Howler, Sirius had received the morning after the sorting held no such reassurances, but was filled largely with obscenities and cruel comments about the shame he had brought upon the Black family, even now, over twenty years later, the words still rang in his ears. _The heir to the Black fortune living with mudbloods and muggle lovers, whatever lunacy you are trying to drive us to it is working! You disgusting, treacherous, blood traitor! You stain on the family name! No better than a house elf, at least they know where their loyalties lie! You get straight up to the headmaster's office and change that hat's mind this instance, whatever foolish practical joke you think this is you shall be paying for it if we ever let you come home, mark my words, boy, your father's got a curse with your name on it!_

The curse in question had been an unforgivable. His father's face had held at twisted smile as he muttered the crutacious curse, his wand pointed in the direction of his eldest son. He had never felt such pain, before or since, but he had never told anyone. His parents had seemed to think that was punishment enough. For now. As the years drew on the punishments got worse and for more menial things, but many members of his family downright disowned him, months, even years, before his parents actually did so. But then, Sirius was the heir and, he supposed, until Regulus proved himself they couldn't risk destroying their eldest. Their mother was insistent that they could beat the Gryffindor out of him, and at the start of his second and third years had demanded he be resorted to determine if it had worked. Dumbledore had obliged only because he was secure in the knowledge that Sirius belonged in Gryffindor and that nothing his parents did would change that. But Sirius had always known Walburga Black was mad, as a foolish child he had delighted in incensing her further, squandering the fortune he knew would be taken from him sooner or later, making friends with muggleborns and half bloods, even daring to take a muggle girlfriend in the summer before his fifth year.

But Harry would never have to worry about that, Sirius, while disappointed, was neither angry nor ashamed. He smiled at the letter he had constructed and set about writing a similar one to Remus.

_Harry,_

_I blame Uncle Moony. No, I'm joking. Don't worry, I love you and that hasn't changed, your parents would have been proud of you, too, I promise. I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends in Hufflepuff, they're good people. I'm sure Tonks will be delighted when I tell her; you'll probably get a letter from her very soon._

_As for the quidditch, I'm sure whichever team you play for will win. You'll be the best chaser Hogwarts has seen since your father played. _

_Tell Neville I've written to his grandmother, and congratulate him for me. I'll write to Uncle Moony myself anyway, but tell him I'm going to start redecorating his room tomorrow. What do you think, green and silver sound about right?_

_Don't be too good, love Sirius._

He smiled as he sent the letters away, as long as Harry was happy, he would be happy. Still, a bottle of fire whiskey couldn't make him feel any worse, he thought, walking to the kitchen.

**A/N: Aw, they're so mean to poor Sirius. **

**Back to Harry & Hogwarts in the next chapter, it won't be completely alternating; it'll probably be 3:1, because there's less of a story to tell with Sirius. **

**Anyway, hope you all enjoyed that! Please review & thanks for reading!**


	33. Friendships Formed

**A/N: Thanks for reading & reviewing the last chapter, everyone, it really means a lot!**

**Sorry for the delay on this one, I've had a bit of a manic week, we had no heating on Monday (was VERY cold) & the cooker went KABOOM, so that was pleasant. Then I was out on a Jack the Ripper tour on Tuesday (totally awesome, if you ever get the chance to go on one, go!) & then I had the pleasure of waking up on Wednesday feeling as though something large & truck shaped had run over my head & was ill the rest of the week… So I haven't really been in a writing mood & my attempts were all really hopeless, but I've finally got something for you, hopefully you'll enjoy it!**

Harry sat on his bed glancing out the window at the night sky; he could see the stars a lot more clearly here than he could in London. His mind was wandering and he felt guilty about lying to his godfather, but he had written a second letter, the truth enclosed, which he would send first thing in the morning. The whole thing was Uncle Moony's idea anyway; he'd suffer Sirius' revenge. He laughed at the thought, it was always difficult for Sirius and Remus to play practical jokes on each other because they knew each other so well, but on the rare occasion that they succeeded it was always with spectacular results. He laughed at a memory of Uncle Moony wandering around the house with bright blue hair; Sirius had said he was releasing Remus' inner Ravenclaw.

Ron bounded onto Harry's bed excitedly, a grin on his freckled face, returning him to reality. "Harry, we did it! We're here!" Harry beamed back and flopped down onto the bed. As well as Neville, there were two other boys sharing a dormitory with them; an Irish boy with sandy hair whose name was Seamus and another boy, Thomas Dean. Or was it Dean Thomas? Harry had met so many people today, they had all shaken his hand enthusiastically and introduced themselves with an air of self importance and Harry couldn't remember most of their names.

Lots of people had been staring at his scar throughout the feast and it had made him feel self conscious, he didn't like people watching him. As soon as they had been shown to Gryffindor tower he had fled to the safety of the dormitory, Ron had gotten used to the idea of him being_the boy who lived_, which Uncle Moony said was what people had been calling him since the day his parents had been killed, and Neville, who had known his whole life, made no issue of it, so there would, Harry reasoned, only be a maximum of two pairs of eyes to stare at him, which, he thought, was much better than the whole of Gryffindor.

Staring at the ceiling, he wondered if this was the dormitory his father had slept in, if this was his bed. He would have to ask Remus in the morning. Ron punched him gently in the side. "Earth to Harry."

"Hello." He said, his voice quiet as he stifled a yawn. Ron laughed.

"Maybe we should go to bed…" Neville mumbled from the other side of the room shyly. "I mean, before Harry falls asleep." Harry shot him a mock venomous look that he had learnt from Sirius and Ron laughed before jumping from Harry's bed to his own. Seamus and Dean/Thomas were sat on their respective beds, whispering to each other and occasionally casting glances in their direction, it made Harry feel very uncomfortable.

"Oi, you two." Ron suddenly called out, making Harry jump and wonder if his new friend could read people's thoughts. The other two boys span around.

"What?" Dean/Thomas asked, looking slightly put out.

"What you whispering about?"

"Nothing." Seamus said, shrugging off whatever it was Ron was thinking. Harry watched as the red head crossed the room and stood very close to Dean/Thomas, he wondered for a moment if Ron was going to start a fight, he was sure that wouldn't be the best thing to do on your first day, especially to someone you had to share a room with for the next seven years. Ron didn't punch the shorter boy, instead he opened his mouth to speak but stopped when a something on the bed caught his eye, he lifted it up and Harry tilted his head, trying to see what had captured Ron's interest.

"What's this?"

"A poster."

"What team is it supposed to be?"

"West Ham."

"West Ham?" Ron raised an eyebrow. "There's no quidditch team called West Ham… and there's too many players." Harry and Neville crossed the room, along with Seamus, they all looked very puzzled and stared down at the West Ham poster. Harry squinted behind his glasses at the players, they were all wearing claret and blue shirts and white shorts, with socks almost up to their knees, he thought they looked pretty silly.

"They're wearing muggle clothes." He said. "And they're not moving." He poked the picture to demonstrate his point. Dean/Thomas raised an eyebrow. "Are they _muggles_?"

"Don't be silly Harry, muggles can't play quidditch."

"They don't play quidditch, they're a football team." Dean/Thomas said. His eyes widening with amusement as Harry, Ron and Neville all sent him blank looks. Seamus, whose dad was a muggle, tried not to laugh, and instead moved back to his own bed and watched, amused, as the other boy explained exactly what football was to their confused fellow roommates.

When Dean, Harry had found out his name at last, finished his explanation Harry found himself both confused and unimpressed. Muggles, he decided, were incredibly odd creatures. What could be fun about a game you didn't even get to _fly_ in? And they only had one ball. Dean didn't know anything about quidditch, either. He actually knew very little of the wizarding world, which meant he didn't know anything much about who Harry was, which made him feel a lot more comfortable. He found he didn't mind that Dean was a muggleborn, he could tell them all sorts of things and they could tell him things about being wizards that they didn't know, he decided it was absolutely brilliant and that he didn't understand pureblood mania, at all.

They told Dean about quidditch, chocolate frogs, dragons and boggarts, Dean was told them about muggles and toasters and the London Underground, which Harry told them he was already an expert on, and television, electricity, rubber ducks and motorbikes, which was another thing Harry knew quite a bit about. Ron knew a lot about electricity too, but he called it eckletricity, which sent Dean and Seamus into a fit of hysterics and turned Ron's ears pink.

Harry was having such a brilliant time he forgot all about being tired and needing to sleep, they talked for hours. This was the latest he could ever remember staying up, he thought, when after looking at Neville's watch and realising that they had to be up in four hours, they finally crawled into their beds. Harry loved his bed at home, as far as he was concerned it had been the most wonderful bed in the world, but nothing could compare to the comfort of his four poster at Hogwarts, it seemed to be just the right amount of warm and just the right amount of comfy, he was asleep almost as soon as his head hit his pillow.

They woke up just in time to run for breakfast in the morning. As they raced into the great hall Harry's eyes flicked up to the staff table, where Uncle Moony laughed and mouthed something about it being Sirius' influence. Harry tried to flatten his hair with one hand and eat toast with the other, whilst Hermione Granger told him his tie wasn't straight, and informed Ron that his robes were on inside out.

Prongs landed in front of him and pulled the toast clean out of his hand, Harry glared at him. "Oi, don't, I'm already going to be late!" He shouted, but the owl ignored him held out his leg, from which Harry detached Sirius' letter, another pang of guilt hit him as he read it and he pulled the letter he had written yesterday from his bag, sending it flying off to Sirius with a wink to Uncle Moony, who held up his own letter from Sirius with a smile. Suddenly Hermione stood up and put her hand on her hip, she reminded Harry of an old woman who they sometimes saw when they were playing catch in the street at Grimmauld Place, but he decided not to tell her that. "If you don't move now you'll be late, we have Transfiguration and I don't think Professor McGonagall would like it if we weren't on time, especially on the first day." Harry looked at her, bemused, before Percy Weasley handed the first year boys copies of their timetables and they jumped to their feet, following Hermione out of the hall, Seamus trying to tuck his shirt in and Ron turning the air blue as they ran up the first flight of stairs.

**A/N: Okay, I'm pretty sure you won't have enjoyed that, as it was abysmal, possibly the worst chapter I've ever written. I'll try & make it up in the next one though, when Harry has his first Potions lesson & comes face to face with Draco outside Defence Against the Dark Arts ;)**

**Please review, I'll give you chocolate!**


	34. What A First Day

**A/N: ** **Firstly, yet another apology at the delay, I'll conquer whatever it is that makes me take ages to update sooner or later. But, as usual, I have highly useless excuses; I went into mourning on Saturday at our mournful defeat. WE WERE ROBBED. (This would be the Scotland v. Italy Euro qualifier match.) & had an absolutely awful recital to do yesterday. Then went to see Parade & got SOAKED on the way home. Good ol' English weather. That's not really an excuse; I just wanted to establish that one. **

**Anyway! On with the fic. And, my sources tell me, today is Thanksgiving, so to my American readers; Happy Thanksgiving. If it's not today then Happy Thanksgiving for whenever it is ;)**

Harry enjoyed transfiguration, he had tried to pay tentative attention to ever second of it, because Sirius said it had been his father's favourite lesson and he was determined to follow in James' footsteps. He had not been quite as eager as Hermione Granger, who had sat, much to Ron's annoyance, right between the two of them, and had nearly taken his eye out more than once in her eagerness to answer Professor McGonagall's questions.

He had made some very neat notes and was still stuffing them into his bag as he made his way towards the dungeons for his first potions lesson. He tried to hide in the group of his friends as they walked through the corridor, lots of people seemed to be staring at him and he really didn't like it, he was certain he would never get used to this.

Suddenly, and almost for nowhere, Fred and George Weasley appeared. They spread out their arms, knocking several students out of the way, identical grins on their faces as they cleared the way for Harry and his fellow Gryffindors to head towards the dungeons. Harry felt incredibly grateful; he turned to tell them so, but with a quick wink each, they were gone.

Harry shrugged and followed his classmates into the dungeons, the room was cold and dark and their professor hadn't arrived yet. Harry avoided the piercing glare coming from a group of Slytherins who had already arrived; Malfoy was mumbling something under his breath that, Harry would have bet the entire contents of his Gringotts' vault, was about him. Slumping into a seat beside Neville, Harry suddenly heard a voice behind him. Professor Snape stalked into the room, his nose was long and hooked, his hair was dark and greasy and he was almost as pale as the ghosts they had seen floating about the school. Something about him made Harry feel uncomfortable instantly.

"Potions." He said, his voice cutting right through Harry. "Is an exact and intricate art that I do not expect many of you to have a gift for." He paused and he felt Snape's eyes flick towards him as he reached the front of the classroom. "Put your wands away. You won't be needing them." There was a resounding groan from the class which was meant by an unpleasant glare. "Pair up. Now." Harry turned to Ron, but seeing Neville looked petrified of being paired with a Slytherin, allowed his two friends to partner each other, whilst Dean joined Seamus. Harry walked around the table and stood with Hermione, who looked almost as relieved as Neville had done. Snape began barking instructions at them and they carefully and quietly set about making their potion; which seemed simple enough and was meant to cure boils. Hermione seemed to have read her text book cover to cover, so he let her lead and chopped ingredients as and when she asked him.

After half an hour Snape began to parade around the room. He stood behind Harry for a full minute before he spoke, making him feel increasingly nervous. "Mr Potter." He said. "Let's see what talents fame has bestowed upon you." The whole class seemed to have stopped breathing, everyone was staring at them. Harry was very thankful he had chosen Hermione as a partner, and not Ron or Neville. Snape curled his lip but made no comment of criticism, but suddenly turned his head when an explosion came from behind them, where Neville and Ron's cauldron was emitting green smoke and beginning to boil over. Neville had turned seven shades of pink and was beginning to panic. Snape flicked his wand and the potion quickly disappeared, he shook his head. "Five points from Gryffindor, you foolish boy."

Harry was relieved when the lesson was over; as he reached the door he heard Snape call his name and turned his head reluctantly. "It doesn't do to let others do all the work, Mr Potter. Your father had a talent for that. Next lesson do not pair yourself with Granger." Harry was puzzled, he had put in the effort too, and it was hardly fair that Snape had criticised him and no one else. He was even more incensed that Snape had criticised James. How had he known him, anyway? Snape was fast becoming Harry's least favourite teacher.

After History of Magic, which Harry couldn't deny having slept through most of, he headed towards Defence Against the Dark Arts. The whole class had been looking forward to it all day, and none more so than Harry, who reminded himself that he couldn't call Remus Uncle Moony.

As they approached the classroom Harry saw the Slytherins were leaving, he groaned inwardly as Malfoy approached them. He shoved past Dean and Seamus and stood in front of Neville. "Hello Longbottom." He curled his nose. "Blown anything up recently?" Neville shrunk back. "Do I scare you Longbottom? Some Gryffindor you are." The Gryffindor lion roared somewhere inside Harry and he pushed Neville behind him as gently as he could, Dean, Seamus and Ron stepped forward, standing at Harry's side, Crabbe and Goyle flanked Malfoy. Harry hid his fear, they might be more of them, but Crabbe and Coyle's necks were thicker than Harry's whole body, and they towered over both of them. Plus, Harry had never been in a fight before and he was pretty sure Neville hadn't either. They'd get ripped to pieces in seconds. He swallowed his fear in defence for his friend.

"Leave him alone, Malfoy." Harry said, more confidently than he felt. His heart was beating fast, but someone had to stand up for Neville, Harry was pretty sure he wouldn't do it himself. Beside him Ron's fists were curled, ready for a fight. Harry curled his own and fixed his eyes firmly on Malfoy's.

"Oo, going to save the day again are you, Potter?"

"Just leave him alone."

"What're you going to about it?" Malfoy twiddled his wand between his fingers for a moment before he flicked it into his hand comfortably and pointed it between Harry's eyes. Harry wondered just what spells Draco knew, and how much damage he could cause, but he tried not to let his apprehension show. He was driven to instant relief, however, as soon as he heard a familiar voice come from the doorway.

"That's _enough_, Mr Malfoy. Ten points from Slytherin and don't ever let me see you with your wand pointed at another student again." Malfoy span around and glared at Remus.

"What about Potter?"

"What about him?"

"Take points from Gryffindor." He said anger in his eyes as he stared up at his teacher. Harry tried not to laugh.

"For what reason, Mr Malfoy?"

"He was going to fight, too." Remus shook his head slightly.

"I am not going to take any points from Gryffindor, not now anyway."

"That's favouritism. It's only because he's _Harry Potter._ It's only because he's your precious little godson. Wait until my father hears about this." Harry glared at Malfoy.

"Feel free to tell your father, it will be to no avail, no student but you had their wand out and poised. Harry, who incidentally is not my godson," his eyes flicked to Harry before returning to Malfoy, "was not about to perform any spell. Now, I have a class to teach and you have a class to attend, do you not?"

**A/N: Another short one, I'm afraid.**

**Please review, I have more chocolate on offer! Thanks to everyone who read & reviewed the last chapter :)**


	35. Consequences

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who read & reviewed the last chapter!**

**& to the anonymous reviewer who was wondering why Harry was such a wuss – I don't think he was, but Harry who had been brought up by the Dursleys was used to being beaten up regularly, the Harry who has been brought up by Sirius hasn't ever been in a fight before!**

Harry was glad that their Defence Against the Dark Arts class only had Gryffindors in it. They followed Remus into the room and took their seats, all sat in the front two rows. Ron sat beside Harry, Neville behind them. Dean gave him a thumbs up from across the classroom and a girl with blonde hair whose name Harry couldn't remembers smiled sweetly at him. He looked away from her pointedly, wondering why in the name of Merlin girls had to exist, whilst Ron bit back his laughter. Harry aimed a kick at his friend under the table and Remus smiled at the class good naturedly before addressing them.

"Right." He said, an awkward smile on his face. Harry wondered if he was nervous to be teaching him and sat himself up straight, paying perfect attention. "Welcome to your first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson." Harry noticed everyone was sitting up and looking quite excited at the prospect of learning to defend themselves. "I'm afraid today won't be a practical lesson." He paused, but Harry wasn't sure why, his eyes lingering on each of the students for a second or two. "But we will begin looking at how to defend ourselves from various magical creatures next lesson." The class remained silent, but Uncle Moony seemed to be expecting something. Harry raised his hand when no one else did.

"Yes Harry?" He asked, looking half relieved, half worried.

"What sort of creatures?" He hoped that was the right question to ask. Uncle Moony smiled.

"We'll start simply, with bowtruckles. We'll work our way through your textbook. For today, I want you to read the first chapter of the book and make some notes. Wands away, quills out. If any of you have any questions just ask."

Harry opened his textbook for the first time and read it quietly, the only sound that could be heard for a long time was the scratching of quills until suddenly the blonde girl who had smiled at him put her hand up. The whole class looked up, curious to see what question she could have come up with, the book wasn't very difficult to understand.

"Yes?" Uncle Moony asked.

"He's Harry Potter." She said quietly, inclining her head towards Harry, who turned a pale shade of pink and hid his head behind his textbook. Remus reached over and pulled it away from his face gently, with a reassuring smile.

"Yes, I do believe he is." He said, with a wink in Harry's direction. Ron seemed to be fighting the urge to laugh again, earning himself yet another kick aimed in his direction.

"How can a baby defeat a wizard? What kind of spell is that?" Harry felt his insides churning; he didn't want to hear this conversation, he suddenly wished he was somewhere else, somewhere that Sirius was and this blonde girl wasn't. Remus frowned slightly.

"Nobody knows, Miss…?"

"Brown." The girl said. "Lavender Brown." Remus nodded.

"Any answer I could give you would be pure speculation, I'm afraid."

"Is You-Know-Who dead?" Remus opened his mouth to speak and Ron, who had stopped giggling, span around in his seat.

"Why're you so nosy?"

"What? It's not being nosy, it's to do with this class."

"S-stop it." Neville mumbled from behind them. Harry turned around in surprise. "It's n-not nice to ask questions like that w-when H-Harry's here."

"I think." Remus interrupted. "That I have found a group of Gryffindors with a penchant for trouble and confrontation. Remind me to hold off teaching you curses for as long as possible." The class groaned in displeasure. Remus laughed. "It's the first day, try not to get yourselves into too much trouble. Do we have any more questions?" Seamus put up his hand. "Mr Finnigan?"

"You ever fought any creatures, Professor?"

"Other than the normal, household ones, I'm ashamed to say, not really. I did at school, of course, and there was an incident one summer in which my school friends decided we should go camping and we came across a rather nasty hinkypunk." Harry sniggered behind his hand, imagining just whose idea the camping trip had been. Remus turned to Harry. "I don't know what is so amusing Mr Potter, I really don't."

"Nothing Professor." Harry said, hiding a grin. Hermione Granger put up her hand.

"Professor, is it true there are mermaids in the lake here?"

"Yes, it is, although they prefer to be called merpeople. Quite charming really, if you catch them in the right mood. I don't advise swimming right into their village though, especially not before I teach you about grindylows." The class continued with people asking questions about all sorts of creatures, Remus looked as though he was in his element and Harry felt very happy for him. When the class ended they had to be shuffled out of the room, none of them wanting to leave. Hermione Granger seized him by the arm, a girlish excitable look on her fact that made Harry wish Hogwarts was an all boys school.

"Harry. Do you know Professor Lupin?"

"Yes, we've just had his lesson, didn't you notice?" He hid a smile.

"No, I mean _away_ from school." Harry shrugged and nodded and pulled his arm from her grasp, deciding that long fingernails were the work of the devil. "That's fantastic, I bet you know loads about defence against the dark arts already, don't you?"

"Not really, we just talk about normal stuff at home… Quidditch and what's for tea, that sort of thing." He let Hermione walk to the great hall with them, but he avoided letting her grab his arm again. Draco Malfoy made an obscene gesture at them from the Slytherin table as they entered. Ron made an equally rude signal with his hand in response and found himself under the disapproving glare of Percy the prefect.

Harry didn't know it as he sat down and tucked into his bangers and mash, but that evening meal was to go down in Hogwarts history. An owl flew into the room unexpectedly, brandishing a red envelope that made several people gulp. Harry heard a few whispers of things such as "it's the first day of term" and "I haven't done anything _yet_." Looking up, he realised the owl was Prongs. And that letter was a howler.

"Oh no!" He exclaimed. Ron, Hermione and Neville all looked at him. "That's my owl! And that's a howler. I'm dead. I'm dead. He's going to kill me. He's going to sell me to gypsies!" He mumbled under his breath. Ron clapped him on the back.

"Well, it was nice knowing you." But Prongs didn't bring the letter to Harry, it soared past the house tables towards the staff one, heading in Uncle Moony's direction. Everyone in the great hall was staring now, no teacher had ever gotten a howler before. Prongs dropped the letter in front of Remus, who looked at it with a raised eyebrow and opened it cautiously. Harry's heart was beating fast as Sirius' voice filled the room.

"_I suppose you think it's FUNNY, do you Moony?! I suppose you thought half killing me and forcing me to suffer some sort of an-your-whatsit was HILARIOUS? It wasn't! It most certainly was not! And I know it was all YOUR idea! And I hope you know, Remus John Lupin, that when you get back your bedroom will be GREEN. Yes, green! You are not a genius, you are an evil tormentor! If James was here now he'd be helping me to murder you, you know that don't you, you treacherous-" _here Sirius said a word that made Professor McGonagall gasp and several other teachers giving Remus disapproving looks. _"And I will get my revenge on you, you underhand demon! This is war, Mr Moony, don't you forget it!" _Here Sirius paused for dramatic effect and his voice softened when he spoke again. _"I am, in case you hadn't noticed, extremely outraged. Despite being incredibly overjoyed at the latest development, I am OUTRAGED. I think I'll sell YOU to passing gypsies. Except, they wouldn't buy you. You smell too odd." _Here Sirius seemed to realise that this howler would probably be heard by a large number of people and returned his letter to the matter in hand. _"Anyway, how DARE you trick a fellow marauder? That is against the unwritten code of honour! And do not even think about referring to the pink earmuff incident of 1976 because it had nothing to do with me! Nothing! Remember, Lupin, GREEN bedroom! Oh and I hate you!"_ The letter burst into flames and the remains sank down onto the table in front of Remus, who looked as though he didn't know whether to be embarrassed or amused. Harry had exploded into fits of giggles and as a result received a bitter look from Remus whilst the rest of the school eventually got distracted by other things and conversation about Professor Lupin's howler from a mystery man died down, although Harry was still hearing speculation about who it was from and what it was about weeks afterwards.

**A/N: Thanks for reading, please review!**


	36. More Memories

**A/N: Sorry for the lateness in delivering this chapter, yet again.**

**And thank you very much to everyone who read & reviewed the last chapter, I apologise if I didn't reply to your review, I think I got most of them but I'm sure I missed a few.**

**And with my excitement I will now add my countdown that you can feel free to ignore;**

**Home for Christmas in: 12 days**

**Christmas in: 23 days**

Sirius was bored. He was certain that no one on earth had ever been more bored than he had, and that he had never been more bored than he was at this precise moment, even the boredom of being locked in a cupboard for four hours because James _forgot_ he was in there couldn't compare. Harry had been gone a month now and he was still finding it difficult to get used to, there was just nothing to do when you didn't have a child to run around after, it only took so long to write a letter, after all.

He had decided to take his boredom out of the house and away from Grimmauld Place, sat outside a café in the centre of Diagon Alley he swung his legs back and forth and eyed his empty teacup with venom, as though his boredom was entirely down to the hand painted china. From behind him heard a soft, feminine, chuckle and turned his head. He squinted in vague recognition at the face he saw before him. The woman, who was, he decided, very beautiful, smiled at him. His eyes fixed together, had he once slept with her or something? He didn't meet very many women these days, but he was sure he had met her before.

"Long time no see, Sirius." She said, still smiling. "Are you enjoying your staring contest with the teacup or can I sit down?"

"I, um, you can sit, feel free." He still had absolutely no idea who she was, but he wasn't going to forget his manners. She was _still_ smiling. Well, he supposed, he hadn't at any point broken her heart. She was about his age so they probably went to school together, but that didn't help any, Remus was good with names and faces but Sirius was not unknown for mixing people up, there had been various, disastrous incidents whilst they were at school involving calling girls by the wrong name. He had, as a result, suffered an assortment of hexes, and taken to writing names on the back of his hand and hoping to Merlin that it didn't rain.

"You don't remember me, do you?"

"Yeah, I do, we went to school together." She looked mildly impressed and he smirked to himself, taking a sip of his tea and finding it to be an extremely unpleasant experience "Did you want a cup of tea? Mine's gone cold." She looked as though she was going to nod, but she stopped herself.

"If you can tell me my name, then yes."

"Bugger it." He said. She smiled _again_, obviously resisting the urge to laugh, and stood, patting his shoulder almost consolingly as she left. He felt deflated, and bemused. He wasn't entirely sure what she had been after and he still couldn't place her. He tipped the cold tea onto the cobblestones in frustration and stood up, wandering around the shops idly, trying to work out who she was.

When he arrived home he was still none the wiser and thudded up the stairs, leaving behind a pathway of muddy footprints that Kreacher would probably ignore and which Sirius would have to clean in a few weeks time when he realised they still existed. He bounded into Remus' room, which was always unlocked, and dived under the bed without any concern for his friend's privacy. He rooted around in the dust for a good ten minutes before he found what he was looking for at the far side of the bed. With some effort he pulled his prize out, cursing loudly as his head came in contact with the edge of the bed on his way out and he tumbled backwards. After a moment which involved Sirius rubbing his head continuously and swearing several times, each time with more volume, he looked at the trunk that lay before him. Remus' old school trunk, with the faded letters. R.L. on the front, the R actually looked more like a P because it was beginning to peel.

Sirius grinned in triumph, memories flooding back to him. There was a dent in the corner from where Sirius had given it a particular vicious kick whilst they were in their sixth year and a small hole near the top which James had poked through an in attempt to discover if his Christmas present lay within it. He flipped it open; the long had been broken for several years. They kept all their school stuff in here. Well, Remus kept all their school stuff in here. Discarded essays, now covered in dust, the ink beginning to fade, school ties complete with ink stains, and, what Sirius had been looking for; hundreds of photographs. She had be in here somewhere, he knew that at best she had aged thirteen years since these were taken, but it was still worth a shot. He discarded a pile of first year photos; if she was in any of them he would never recognise her.

It took almost an hour before he reached the photos from their seventh year, they had had a leaver's party in the Gryffindor common room, complete with fireworks which, for once, they had had the insight to set off _outside_, but which were spectacular to watch all the same. The pictures brought back thousands of memories; he resisted the temptation to rip Peter from every photo his face appeared in, although he could feel his anger growing each time he saw him, especially when he was near to Lily or James. After some time he found a photo of Lily and her friends and whooped with joy when he realised who the woman from the café had been. Lily's friend Mary. He'd never had all that much to do with her; she was the sort of girl that blended into the background like Remus was the sort of bloke who did. They would have made a good couple, he mused, and wondered if he could find her again and set them up.

He laughed as he saw pictures from the party's descent throughout the school, they had moved from corridor to corridor, waking portraits and students alike as they past, it had culminated in Professor McGonagall shouting at them for a full hour, and Sirius and James taking bets on whether or not she had even paused for breath whilst she informed them in no uncertain terms that they would end up either dead or in Azkaban. He grinned at the memory and began to chuck the photographs, rather unceremoniously, back into Remus' trunk. He was almost finished when he saw a picture he must have dropped and his face fell. It was of Lily and James, looking more in love than ever, but that wasn't what caught his attention, in the background he could see Peter, engaged in conversation with Severus Snape, whose arm was outstretched and he was tapping it irritably as though he was attempting to make a point. He threw it with bitter anger back into the trunk and closed it, pushing it back under the bed with great force; he heard it bounce against the wall before he flopped down onto Remus' bed, almost writhing with anger. Sirius was certain Snape had been a Death Eater, or in league with them anyway, was Peter turning to Voldemort's side, even then, before they had even left school? Why had none of them noticed? They were still sharing a _room_ with him, they were his _friends_, they would have noticed. But then, Sirius thought, feeling suddenly both ashamed and betrayed, they had never paid Peter all that much attention, especially not at that point, when James was engrossed in Lily and Remus was engrossed in revision and Sirius was engrossed in having a good time. Peter could probably have exploded in front of them and they wouldn't have noticed. Perhaps that had been the problem all along, perhaps he had been a time bomb, waiting to go off, and when no one had been there to notice he'd turned to Voldemort.

He banished all thoughts of guilt, furious with himself for even thinking that, if he blamed himself he would have to blame Remus and James too, and it wasn't their fault, not at all. No, he was sure they couldn't have noticed, and even they could have, Peter didn't have to turn to the Death Eaters, it wasn't about attention, it wasn't about feeling unwanted, it was about protection, it was about looking out for number one. He was a pureblood and he would be safest on Voldemort's side, that was why it had happened.

But yet, he couldn't get the image of Peter and Snape out of his mind, there, in that photo, right in front of their eyes, and they didn't even notice. He kicked at Remus' bedpost as he stood up and cursed the numb feeling that came over his toes. What did it matter now, anyway? Peter was as good as dead, if Sirius found him he'd kill him, if the Death Eaters found him they'd kill him, and if the ministry found him he'd spend the rest of his pitiful existence in Azkaban.

Guilt still racked through Sirius though, as it always did when he thought about Peter's betrayal too much, he always wondered if they could have stopped him going over to Voldemort, he always wondered if, at the heart of it, he was responsible for Harry not having any parents. Cursing yet, he moved to his own bedroom and sat down to write two letters.

_Harry,_

_Hope you're okay. I've had no letters from Dumbledore so I'm assuming you haven't blown anything up yet. I'm only slightly disappointed._

_Only a very quick letter, you haven't replied to the last one yet so I don't have much to say; what do you want for Christmas? Diagon Alley's full of stuff, I had a lovely visit there today, had an awful cup of tea. Bought Uncle Moony three pairs of Slytherin socks._

_Love, Sirius._

It made him feel slightly better to remember that he had raised Harry, that he had done right by him, and that he had, hopefully, honoured James and Lily by doing so.

_Moony,_

_I raided your school trunk. Don't tell me off, I had a reason. Saw an absolutely gorgeous woman in Diagon Alley, legs up to her armpits, no lie. Couldn't remember her name, turned out to be Mary. Lily's Mary. You know, little miss wallflower Mary. She's gorgeous and I've never kissed her, can you believe it? I might have to try and find her again._

_Anyway, there was a picture of Prongs and Lily looking sickeningly loved up from our last party. Wormtail and your slimy Slytherin colleague were in the background, do you think he was one of them before we left school? We would have noticed if he was, wouldn't we?_

_I bought you a Christmas present today; you're going to love it. It's not a book. Or chocolate._

_Wish you were here, I'm driving myself mad. Think the boredom's getting to me._

_Padfoot._

Remus was the voice of reason and Sirius felt better just sending him a letter, he moved to the kitchen and made himself a decent cup of tea, pushing all thoughts of Peter from his mind in favour of the hot, sweet liquid.

When the post arrived the next day there were three letters waiting for him, he tore each one open.

_Sirius,_

_I haven't blown anything up on purpose, our cauldron went a bit melted on Tuesday but it was Ron's fault and Professor Snape fixed it anyway. He took points though, I think he HATES me. Uncle Moony says he doesn't, but he looks at me funny._

_I did mean to reply to the last letter but I forgot. Sorry. I don't know what I want for Christmas, a surprise please, it's ages away anyway. _

_Uncle Moony likes socks, but I don't think he's a fan of Slytherin ones. That'll be very funny to see._

_Love, Harry._

_Padfoot,_

_I'm going to lock my bedroom door when I come back, I might have had something private in there, sometimes I wonder if you have any manners at all. _

_Mary was always beautiful, I've kissed her. Mistletoe induced, of course. She's a very lovely girl; I hope you didn't scare her off too much._

_You worry too much though, don't you remember, James and Peter hexed Snape at that party, just before Minerva got there and exploded and told you you'd end up in Azkaban. I don't think he was before we left, and you have got to stop blaming yourself for what happened; it is entirely down to Peter._

_Why are you buying me Christmas presents in October? It better not be poisonous, or exploding. Speaking of exploding, Severus was having a rant about our Harry, exploding cauldrons. I think he's inherited James' potion skills and not Lily's._

_You were mad before I left, but you could always get a job or a hobby to pass the time._

_Moony._

_Mr Black,_

_I am writing to request your return to Hogwarts this year for the occasional auror training lecture, on the terms as they previously were. I hope you will consider taking up the position again, if you are interested you will first be required on the twenty third of this month._

_Please reply promptly, I await your response._

_Albus Dumbledore. _

**A/N: That part might have seemed incredibly random and in some ways it was, in other ways it'll be relevant in later parts but I must confess to it having been a filler, the problem is, I know what I want to do with it, but I don't want to launch straight into it because it would mean skipping an awful lot of time, if anyone has any ideas for things that they'd like to see please let me know!**


	37. Surprises In Dual Forms

**A/N: As always, thanks for reading & reviewing and apologies for yet another delay. Coursework deadline is looming so I have to at least try to actually do some work. **

**Also, wanted to say thanks to everyone who's favourited either the story and to those who've favourited me. Means a lot, honestly.**

**& I can go home in five sleeps! And it's now the 10****th**** so that's what, 15 days 'til Christmas! dances (probably very badly) **

The Gryffindor Quidditch team. _The_ Gryffindor Quidditch team. The words repeated themselves over and over in Harry's head as he lay in the middle of his bed, staring at the ceiling, completely stunned. He didn't notice his friends enter the room at first but as they moved closer he could hear their whispers, he didn't move though, he wasn't sure he could, every bit of him was in shock, he was sure a stunning spell must've been sent in his direction.

"Is he okay?"

"What do you suppose McGonagall did to him?"

"Is he still breathing?"

"Do you think he's going to get expelled?"

"It's all my fault." The last whisper was from Neville, and Harry raised his head slightly, letting them all know he was still alive.

"Harry? You okay?" Ron asked, sitting on the end of the bed. He was wearing a concerned expression rather like the one that had fixed Sirius' face when Harry was nine and had fallen down the stairs and crashed headlong into the drawing room door, just as his godfather was opening it. He had a scar to go with his lightening bolt, but this one was on the top of his head and no one had been able to see it since his hair had grown back; the healer Sirius had called in his panic had insisted on shaving his head to see the extent of the damage, he had never looked more ridiculous but when he awoke the next morning the bald patch was gone and his hair was as unruly as ever.

"I'm…I'm fine. Great, really. Never better."

"You don't look it, mate. What did she do to you?"

"Nothing." He sat up, resting his elbows on his knees, trying his best to hide the grin that was desperate to jump out at them. He stared at his feet. There was a hole in his sock, just above his left toe. "Took me to see Oliver Wood. Wants me for Seeker." Ron made a noise like a firework going off, Neville tumbled off the bed, Dean and Seamus cheered in unison and Harry made a whooping noise before jumping up and finally releasing his grin, as he propelled himself from his bed to Ron's and proceeded to jump about the room, not hiding his joy in the least. The others roared with laughter and began to jump about too.

Their celebrations only ended when Percy Weasley stuck his head around the door and told them that if they weren't quiet soon he'd be going for McGonagall. Ron made a rude hand gesture the second the door was shut and they all slumped down onto their own beds.

"Seeker, really?"

"Yep."

"But first years never make the house teams."

"I know, youngest Quidditch player in a century."

"Wow… wish I could be on the team, fancy being a chaser."

"My dad was a chaser. And Captain. I think Sirius wanted me to be a chaser too but-" He was interrupted by a knock on the door, he sat up, bemused. No one ever knocked on their dormitory door, everyone just barged in, but Harry supposed that was the nature of being a Gryffindor. "Um… come in." He grinned when he saw Remus' head in the doorway.

"Uncle M- Professor Lupin! Hello." Ron laughed at Harry's slip up and he threw a pillow in his friends' general direction. It land on Neville, who looked less than impressed but, being Neville, said nothing.

"I've just spoken to Professor McGonagall-" Remus' expression was stern and Harry gulped, thinking about the dung bombs they had dropped down the entrance hall stairs on their way to breakfast.

"We didn't mean to do it!"

"Do what, Harry?" Remus looked puzzled and Ron laughed again. Harry contemplated throwing his shoe but decided against it, his aim wasn't spectacular after all.

"N…nothing. Um, what was McGonagall saying?"

"_Professor_ McGonagall tells me you're Gryffindor's new Seeker." Harry nodded.

"I am." Remus grinned proudly and leaned against the doorway.

"I shouldn't really have come up here but…" He trailed off, still smiling. "Sirius'll be really proud."

"Dad was a chaser."

"Mm. Would've made a good Seeker too though, Gryffindor Seeker was a third year when we started, your dad was used to playing Chaser by the time the guy left. Don't worry, Sirius doesn't want you to be your dad, he's proud of you for being you. Youngest player in a century, you know?"

It took several days for the Gryffindor boys to calm down completely, Oliver had sworn them all to secrecy and there was a rumour doing the rounds that Gryffindor still didn't have a Seeker, despite the first match just being a month away, Harry was going to be their secret weapon.

He had written to Sirius but hadn't received a reply, he didn't want to say anything to Ron because he was sure he'd laugh and tell him he was being stupid, he had settled instead for a whispered conversation with Neville, who'd tried, and failed, to convince him Sirius wouldn't care that he wasn't a chaser and his letter had probably gotten lost. Harry refused to believe it; Prongs had never lost a letter before. He didn't want to say anything to Remus either, in case he told Sirius, he felt like silly for worrying and decided to ignore the little voice in the back of his head telling him that Sirius was disappointed in him.

The morning after the October full moon Harry overslept. In fact, their whole dormitory overslept. "Bugger, bugger, bloody bugger!" Ron cursed as he hopped around with one shoe on, trying to simultaneously tie his tie and shrug himself into his robes. They rushed around to get ready and, as they made their way down to breakfast it dawned on Harry what day it was. He stopped suddenly and looked at Ron.

"We don't have Defence Against the Dark Arts today, do we?"

"No…why?"

"No reason." Harry breathed a sigh of relief that his friends, thankfully, didn't notice. After the last full moon Snape had covered their lesson and had slated Harry's homework ten times more than he had everyone else's. He had even told Hermione Granger, who always got full marks for everything, that she should redo her entire bowtruckle essay. It wasn't that Harry blamed Remus for not being able to come to their lesson; it was just that he dreaded the thought of being taught by Snape any more than they had to be.

When they finally descended the stairs towards the great hall it was to a great disturbance, almost all the students seemed to be congregated in the entrance hall whilst Snape shouted at someone in a way that made Harry's skin crawl.

"I don't know what you're doing here, and frankly, I don't care, but you'd do well to stay out of my way while you are!" Harry and Ron exchanged glances, even Snape wouldn't talk to a student like that, would he? They craned their next to see who Snape was talking to, but even Ron, who was head and shoulders above Harry, couldn't see anything over the heads of the older students.

"Well you could make that all a little bit easier by crawling back to your dungeon, couldn't you?" Sirius' voice filled the hall and everyone who could see what was going on turned their heads. Neville looked at Harry who tried to shove his way forward.

"Excuse me, excuse me! Can you let me past?" No one cleared the way for him; they shoved him back out the way, not wanting to miss a minute of the action.

"Oi, move!" Ron bellowed, although it was obviously he had no idea why Harry was clawing his way forward so eagerly. A few students parted but most of them ignored him. Hermione Granger suddenly appeared at Harry's elbow.

"What's going on?"

"Snape's gone nuts." Ron said, letting out a low whistle. "And Harry wants a ring side seat."

"That's my _godfather_." Harry said, determinedly attempting, yet again, to get his way through the barricade of fifth and sixth years.

"The only one of us who'll crawl anywhere, Black, will be you, I suspect it would be far too much to ask for you at least try to show the decorum now that you could not seem to muster when we were at school." Hermione flicked her wand and the students in front parted suddenly, as though they had been burnt, looking from one to the other with complete bemusement as Harry ran down the gap between them; Ron, Neville and Hermione hot on his heels.

"This, coming from you? You were the one who-"

"Sirius!" Harry yelled, half excited to see him and half confused at the scene before him, Sirius and Snape had their wands out and looked seconds away from duelling. Harry's voice, however, wasn't the only one to fill the room. Remus glared at Sirius admonishingly from the other side of the corridor, he looked exhausted and Harry suspected he was on his way to the hospital wing.

"Harry." Sirius said, his face alight with joy and filling with a grin as Harry, not caring that there were at least a hundred pairs of eyes on them, threw himself across the entrance hall and into his arms. Snape coughed.

"How touching."

"Severus, lower your wand. Sirius, can't you be trusted to behave like an adult?" Snape did as he had been told, much to Harry's surprise, and began to stalk off, signalling to the students that they should do the same.

"You know me Moony…" Sirius said with a very small smile, releasing Harry.

"Go to class. Harry too. I have to go…"

"You look done in."

"I feel it, now go." He sighed. "Merlin, sometimes I wonder if your stupidity knows any boundaries…"

"Of course it doesn't, Moony, you should know that by now."

**A/N: Two things;**

**Firstly – I know a lot of people wanted to see the flying lesson, but I knew if I wrote it that it would be a replica of JKR's and it wouldn't have been worth putting in, so I skipped it, I hope I won't be stoned as a result.**

**Secondly – Yes, Sirius is teaching classes and no he's not teaching Harry, it might seem a little odd but there is a reason, namely there's a plot point that has to happen before Sirius teaches Harry's class. So it'll either be after the next full moon **_**or**_** after Christmas, I have to decide which works better, I think it'll be the latter. **


	38. Map Mysteries

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who read/reviewed the last chapter.**

**Again, sorry for the (absolutely huge) delay. I'm at home now so I've just been relaxing & enjoying being home. Oh, and of course, getting ready for Christmas!**

The weeks continued to fly by and November brought with it cold, harsh winds that had Harry and his friends hiding inside the castle instead of wandering about the grounds during their free time. Quidditch training was the only time he dared to venture outside, and the first match of the season came and went in a blur of chilled wind, sharp rain and fluttering snitch wings, the sort that put Gryffindor ahead of Slytherin in the running for the quidditch cup. The full moon came and went and, much to Harry's disappointment, Sirius didn't visit Hogwarts. His letters to Harry were frequent enough, but often very brief, he was beginning to feel dejected about the whole thing and began to spend more and more time alone in his room, staring at the Marauder's map, hoping that Sirius' name would appear and smiling every time he saw handwriting that looked like his godfather's, although admittedly most of it was Remus' neat script.

He was lying in the middle of his bed; map sprawled out in front of him, when Ron and Neville entered. He flicked his eyes upwards and saw Hermione sidling in behind them, he hastened to tuck the map away but Hermione was too quick for him.

"What's _that?_"

"It's Harry's, don't be nosy." Ron said, folding his arms across his chest. He turned his head towards Harry. "Sorry mate, she followed us up here. Won't go away."

"It's a map." Harry's voice was quiet, Hermione had a sad look in her eyes and Tonks had taught him enough about girls for him to know that when they were upset the best thing to do was to give them exactly what the wanted.

"It's a bit private though." He mumbled _mischief managed_ under his breath and the map cleared, but he wasn't sure if Hermione even noticed, she looked as though she was fighting back tears. "Hermione?"

"I… I'll go then." She said hurriedly, Neville leapt forward to stop her and Harry threw a slightly disapproving look in Ron's direction.

"Stay Hermione." Neville's voice was even quieter than Harry's had been. "Please?"

"Yeah… stay." Ron forced out. Harry hid a smirk, but he was secretly very glad. Hermione was very clever but unfortunately, she wasn't very good at suppressing her enthusiasm or her intelligence and not many people seemed to want to be friends with her. Harry, forcing himself to see past the fact that she was, in fact, a girl, felt inclined to look after her. She was a muggleborn and didn't know all that much about the wizarding world, nothing she hadn't read in a book anyway, and Harry worried about her feeling lonely. Everyone said his mother was very clever, and she had been a muggleborn too. Harry sometimes wondered if she might have been a little like Hermione at first, and he felt like they should look after her. At least until she found friends of her own.

"That map's gone blank, Harry."

"I know. I wiped it."

"Oh. Can't I see it?" Harry bit his lip thoughtfully.

"I don't know-"

"No." Ron said, his arms still folded.

"_Ron._"

"She'll give it McGonagall; she doesn't want anyone to have any fun."

"I won't. I promise."

"Shake on it?" Harry asked, holding out his hand.

"Make an unbreakable vow." Ron suggested. Neville squeaked in horror and Harry shook his head. Hermione took Harry's hand and shook it lightly.

"Right… I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He tapped the parchment lightly and the Marauders Map came into sight. Hermione stared, her mouth hanging open.

"What's kind of magic is that? How did you do it? Is that _Hogwarts?_ Is that _people?_"

"I didn't do it, my dad did, when he was at school. Him and his friends. Sirius gave me it." They all crowded around the map, Hermione was completely fascinated and Neville was thrilled at being allowed to be this close to the map. Ron's nose was practically touching the parchment in his enthusiasm. Harry pointed out their various classrooms and they spent a large amount of time finding people on the map. Remus was in his classroom, they agreed he was probably at his desk because his name didn't move at all for the three minutes they watched him. Dumbledore was pacing in his study, Fred and George Weasley were lurking outside the Slytherin common room and Percy the prefect was in the library with a girl called Penelope Clearwater, who Hermione told them was a Ravenclaw prefect.

"What about us? Where's Gryffindor tower?" Harry's eyes flicked to the area of the map he knew the tower was in and traced his finger up the stairs and into the first year boy's dormitory, where he pointed out their names. _Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Peter Pettigrew._ Harry blinked twice. _Peter Pettigrew._ That didn't make any sense. His eyes flicked to where Neville was sat, but there was no one beside him. He glanced at each of his friends and their faces were all filled with the same confusion.

"Who's Peter Pettigrew?" Neville choked out.

"There's no one there."

"The map must be broken." Hermione said, logically.

"Neville, stick your arm out!" Neville shakily did as Ron suggested but his arm just hit the thin air that lay between Harry and Ron's beds.

"It's got to be broken."

"It can't be broken; it's always worked fine before."

"It's showing people who _don't exist_, Harry."

"He's moving!" Harry's eyes dropped down to the map and sure enough, the label _Peter Pettigrew_, was darting across the dormitory, but when they looked there was still no one there. The name disappeared from the dormitory and into the common room. Map in hand, Harry sprinted after it. The others followed and the five names sped through the map, out of the common room and through corridor after corridor.

After a full hour they retreated back to the dormitory, collapsing on the floor out of breath, and still as bemused as they were before. Peter Pettigrew had disappeared from the map altogether, now, and they had seen no one at all on their hunt.

"I don't get it…"

"It's got to be broken."

"Maybe he was invisible."

"But then Neville would have been able to feel him." Harry shrugged, he refused to believe the map was broken but he had no further answers to explain the mystery. They sat in silence for a moment or two before Hermione spoke.

"We should tell McGonagall."

"No!" All three boys shouted at once. Hermione gave them a stern look.

"If there's someone in the castle, in your dormitory, who shouldn't be here, then she should know."

"And how would we explain knowing? We're not turning the map in."

"But if there's someone wandering around, probably invisible-"

"Or the map could be broken. Or someone could be messing with it. Or something." Ron insisted. Hermione scowled and closed her mouth. After a while Hermione broke yet another awkward silence.

"But who is Peter Pettigrew, anyway?"

"Never heard of him."

"No, me either."

"We should look him up in the library."

"The_library?_"

"Yes, it's a big place with lots of books." Ron glared at her, venom in his eyes. Hermione sighed and continued. "If we knew who he was we might be able to find something out _about_ him. Then we might know why he's on the map in your dormitory when there's nobody there."

**A/N: Hmm, hope that doesn't go down disastrously.**

**If you've read, please review. And because I doubt I'll be updating again before Tuesday; Merry Christmas, everyone!**

**Additional Author's Note: In response to a review I had & a few stubborn PMs; the reason that the kids didn't find Peter was because if they'd seen him as a rat they would have seen Scabbers, I find it highly unlikely, despite objections, that four first years who have no idea what an animagus is would, upon seeing Scabbers, assume that he was Peter Pettigrew. If JKR can get away with Harry looking for Peter & not finding him because he was in rat form then so can I, so if anyone else has any objections to my doing that, I've given my defence now. **

**Additionally, if you want to criticise, then fair enough, but if you do, I hope you respect that I have a right to respond to criticism and to defend myself and my story.**

**(Sorry about that, and thanks for reading, really, I do appreciate it.) **


	39. Problem Not Solved

**A/N: Three things;**

**1. Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. I had four portfolios due in last week that I left to the last minute & I had no time to update because I was so stressed & I wanted to write but I kept thinking about all the work I had to do, I'll try & be more frequent with my updating but I don't think it's going to get anywhere near how it was when I first started writing this.**

**2. This is nowhere near the length I intended it to be but because I have a rough plan of the next four chapters I didn't want to put too much in, so there's another apology there…**

**3. I don't know if the books mention the Marauder's Map all being in one type of handwriting, if they do then I apologise for my lack of canonicity. **

Harry didn't sleep all night, he found it impossible, his eyes stayed fixed on the Marauder's Map by wand light, with nothing but the sound of Ron's snoring to remind him his housemates were even there. Peter Pettigrew's name didn't appear in their dormitory at all and he couldn't find him anywhere within the castle, as morning drew closer he was beginning to wonder whether or not he had imagined the whole thing. Nothing on the map was moving. Everyone was asleep. The Slytherins in the dungeons, the Hufflepuffs in their dormitories, down by the kitchens and the Ravenclaws, near the library. Even the teachers in the staff tower.

Even Remus in his room. It was when he was staring at the tiny dot marked _Remus Lupin_, looking for some sort of comfort, some sort of protection, that the thought came to him. Remus would know if the map sometimes showed people who weren't there, he'd helped make it after all, it might even be a trick they'd put on their to stop other people using it, they probably hadn't thought that one day they would have sons to give it to.

When his bedside alarm clock went off at seven he was already up and dressed and ready to go to the staff tower, he hadn't wanted to wake Remus just to ask, it might not be important after all, if it was just a trick the map sometimes played then it would be nothing to worry about and certainly not worth waking Uncle Moony for. He was on his way out the door when Ron sat up, rubbing at his eyes.

"Where you going?" He mumbled through a yawn.

"To see Uncle… to see Professor Lupin. He knows about the map, thought we could tell him…"

"Don't want him to take it off us though, do we?"

"He won't, it was a present, he won't unless he catches us doing something we shouldn't be."

"Lemme come with you, hang on." Harry sat back on his bed and waited impatiently for Ron, and for Neville, who upon waking had decided to go with them. It was Neville who suggested waiting for Hermione, and by the time they got to the staff tower Remus was on his way out.

"Oh, hello."

"Uncle Moony, I need to speak to you!"

"Something wrong, Harry? You can't have had time to have breakfast yet, it's not like you to rush about like a madman on an empty stomach."

"I need to ask you something, about the map-" Remus raised a hand to stop him speaking.

"Ah, best not to mention that here, Harry, I shouldn't allow you to have it after all."

"But it's important."

"I'm sure it can wait until this afternoon, the end of my lesson, how's that?" Harry shrugged and Hermione tugged on the sleeve of his robes.

"Let's go."

"Yeah." Said Ron, tugging Harry away from Hermione quickly. "I'm _starving._" Now that he thought about it, Harry was fairly hungry himself. With a last smile from Remus he followed his friends down the great hall and tucked into breakfast without saying a word, wishing that they could have had their questions answered sooner, but he supposed he could wait a few more hours, it couldn't do any harm and he wouldn't want to risk Remus having to take the map off him, it reminded him of his dad, there were bits written in four different types of handwriting; Remus' tidy hand had written the title, labelled the tiny dots and crafted the names of the more important parts of the castle, Sirius' elegant scrawl marked all the tunnels, the secret passageways and the classrooms most used for detentions. The common rooms and the quidditch pitch were all marked in a handwriting that Harry didn't recognise but which was very similar to his own, he assumed that was his fathers. Everything else was written in a tidy but unexciting hand which Harry assumed belonged to Wormtail.

The day dragged more than ever and it was the first time Harry had ever wished for a Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson to be over, as soon as it was he shot to the front of the room, Ron, Hermione and Neville followed him and Remus regarded them with a small shake of the head, waiting for the room to empty before speaking.

"What's the problem then, Mr Potter?"

"Can the map show people who don't exist?"

"No, of course not. Why?"

"Because last night we were in our dormitory and a name was next to ours but there was no one there…"

"You're sure?" Harry nodded.

"What was the name?" Harry opened his mouth to speak but Hermione, who had sensed the potential path this could lead them down, and Ron, who was desperate not to have the map confiscated, both answered him at once.

"We can't remember-"

"We didn't really pay that much-"

"Really?" Remus raised an eyebrow and bit his lip, questioning them silently. Neville didn't say a word.

"I thought it might be a trick that you'd put on there to stop people who weren't you four using it…"

"Well, there is a way to stop people from reading it and as far as I'm aware there aren't any tricks on there to try and scare people using it, but there were days when James and Sirius snuck off with the map to add little secrets we didn't discover for weeks afterwards." He smiled at the memory. "I suppose there is a possibility that we could have missed something. You'll have to ask him over Christmas. It's probably nothing Harry, the magic's getting old, perhaps it needs updating, it may be riddled with errors. But perhaps I should take the map for now, just in case. I could keep an eye out for people who perhaps choose to be invisible."

"It wasn't someone invisible, we checked, Neville tried to touch them." Neville nodded.

"Well…"

"It's probably nothing, like you said, I'll ask Sirius over Christmas, we'll be okay with it."

"Harry…"

"Please, Uncle Moony?" Remus nodded with a smile and ruffled Harry's hair affectionately, making it stick up in more directions than it managed alone.

"Off you go then, get to dinner or you'll be starving by bedtime." The four of them traipsed out, slightly disappointed that they hadn't discovered what was going on. None of them noticed Remus' worried expression and, as Hermione steered them towards the library instead of the great hall, they didn't notice Ron's rat rush past in the direction of Gryffindor tower.

"Harry?" Hermione said suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you call Professor Lupin Uncle _Moony_?" Harry shrugged.

"Just because."

**Reviews are love.**


	40. Friends in Dust and Snow

**A/N: Thanks for reading & reviewing everyone, as always!**

It felt like there weren't any more books left they could look in. Hermione had them spending every spare minute searching for Pettigrew in the library, but he wasn't in any of the books they checked. First they started with _Famous Wizards of the Twentieth Century_, in which Harry found his own name, but no mention of anyone called Pettigrew.They also tried _Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century_, which Ron said was practically the same thing and that Pettigrew's name wasn't likely to be in it. It wasn't. Nor was Harry's, though, which Hermione said made the two books entirely different.

Ron leafed through _Important Modern Magic Discoveries_ half heartedly one afternoon in early December. It had begun to snow but Hermione was insistent they should keep looking, despite the boys' desperate attempts to go outside for a good old fashioned snowball fight. Harry was just about ready to give up, Ron had been ready weeks ago and it was only fear that stopped Neville from abandoning the search. Hermione, however, was insistent. Harry would liked to have said that she was fun when she wasn't making them research Pettigrew constantly, but she nagged them to do their homework and told them off for talking during lessons, or whilst they were eating. She was a cross, Harry decided, between Professor McGonagall and somebody's mum. Not that he knew all that much about the latter.

Ron slammed the book shut suddenly, making Madam Pince, who was even scarier than Hermione, glare over in their direction. Harry sent her an apologetic smile and looked at Ron, who had lain his head on the cover of the book with the air of a boy who has lost the will to live.

"Nothing?" Harry whispered.

"Nothing. As usual. Why are we even doing this?" Harry and Neville both look over at Hermione, who had her head buried in the largest cartography book the library possessed. She didn't look up and Neville shut his own book _Map Charming for the Easily Lost_, and gave Harry a desperate look, the sort that begged him to tell Hermione it didn't matter any more. He opened his mouth to do just that, Pettigrew's name hadn't shown up on the map for weeks, nor had anyone else who wasn't there appeared in the room beside them, and if it weren't for Hermione's persistence he would probably have forgotten about the whole thing by now. Before he could get his words out, however, Hermione was looking at them with annoyance.

"I'm not going to do _all_ the research by myself." She sighed and handed Harry yet another book. "Here, I picked this up off the returns shelf. Check for Pettigrew in there." Shrinking back into his seat Harry flicked open the book _Notable Magical Names of Our Time._ Ron reopened his book and Neville picked up another, each returning to their research in silence for another half an hour, until Hermione suddenly sat bolt upright. "Harry, look!"

"You've found it?!"

"Please say you've found it." Ron pleaded from behind his own book. Madam Pince stormed over before Hermione could tell Harry if she'd found anything about Pettigrew or not.

"Out!" She said, her voice didn't rise above a whisper but it felt as though she had shouted louder than Sirius did the time he got his foot stuck in the fireplace. "Such noise! This is a _library_." She hissed, as though they didn't know, and ushered them out with such urgency Hermione didn't get an opportunity to check out the book she still held in her hand. "I don't want to see you again in here until after Christmas, honestly, I am fully aware you must be up to _something._" At this point her eyes flicked to Ron and Harry, who both knew her suspicion was founded entirely upon their ancestry.

"Well?" Harry asked as they walked through the corridor.

"I didn't find anything about Pettigrew. Or the map." She looked incredibly disappointed and almost guilty, unaware that each of the boys was celebrating inside over their library ban.

"What were you shouting for then?" Ron asked, his mouth full of a chocolate frog he had pulled from his pocket.

"I found… well, it was your dad. And someone else. At least, I think it was them because you said your dad was made your map and your dad's name was James and this book _is_ fairly old-" Ron swallowed his chocolate and stopped Hermione mid-speech.

"And _what_ has that got do with _anything_?"

"I just thought Harry might like to see it. I know I would if my dad was… well, I thought it was rather, I thought I'd show Harry." She said, her expression stubborn.

"I'd like to see it." Harry said, smiling. They continued to walk until they reached the Great Hall, it wasn't until they had all eaten as much as they could hold that Harry opened the book to the page Hermione had marked, and there it was, at the bottom of the page, Sirius' familiar handwriting and his dad's scrawl beneath it. He felt warm inside as he traced the letters, smiling to himself at the thought of his father and his friends huddled around books in the library, just as they had been. It seemed Sirius was as tired of researching as Ron had become;

_James, do you think this book is heavy enough to give Snivelly brain damage?_

_The grease would repel it. Don't write on library books, Pince already hates you._

_Pince is in love with me. She's just repressing her feelings._

_Go away._

He laughed, imagining Sirius sprawled out on the floor, hiding from Madam Pince as he defaced one of her precious books. He imagined his father, rolling his eyes at Sirius' stupidity, and Remus leaning over to see what they were writing about, laughing at them, getting them all thrown out of the library.

He allowed Hermione to take the book from him and put it in her bag, and, enjoying the newfound opportunity to go out into the snow, the boys departed as soon as Ron had finished his third help of apple pie. It was halfway through the snowball fight they started against Dean and Seamus that Harry realised Hermione might not have been dragging them to the library just for the sake of researching. She had walked past them, her head down, and looked lonelier than he had thought it was possible to be. He sighed and made an excuse about needing a scarf on in order to depart. It was a while before he found her, on a bench not far from the lake, her head buried in a muggle novel.

"Hermione?" She looked up, sliding a finger between the pages of the book so she wouldn't lose her place.

"Yes?"

"Thanks. For showing me that thing… with my dad."

"It's okay."

"Want to come join in?"

"No, thank you."

"Why not? It's fun."

"I've never had a snowball fight before." She said, smiling sadly. Harry wondered if Hermione had ever done anything fun.

"First time for everything." Harry said confidently. It was what Sirius always said when he was afraid to try something new and it almost always worked. It seemed to work this time as Hermione followed him back to the snowball fight and the teams were juggled slightly so that it was three on three. Harry felt very proud of himself, and all thoughts of Pettigrew and the map were banished from his mind when later, the proud victors, Harry, Ron and Hermione lay in the snow, with Neville playing dead opposite them, discussing Christmas and the holidays and how excited they were to be seeing their families again. Harry hadn't realised just how much he missed Sirius until the time came when he would actually be able to see him again. Hogwarts was great, and he loved it, but nothing beat being at home with his godfather.

**A/N: Snowball fights all round for reviewers. Or at least I hope I can offer that soon enough, I really want it to snow!**


	41. Family Ties Again

**A/N: Apologies to the people who I told I'd update this yesterday… I sort of… fell asleep…**

**Thanks for reading & reviewing!**

Sirius couldn't remember ever having been so nervous. He paced the platform impatiently, avoiding other parents who were eying him with suspicion. Mary was standing back away from the crowd; he had invited her along with the express intention of introducing her to Harry and deciding whether or not his godson would strongly disapprove of her presence at Grimmauld Place for Christmas. As time wore on, however, he was beginning to regret his decision.

He had met Mary again in Diagon Alley a week after the café incident, he had bought her a drink and apologised continuously for forgetting her. Since then they had been on several dates and had become very close. It was during one of their dates that he learnt the last of her family had been killed during the war and she was intending on spending Christmas alone. Inviting her to join their family Christmas had seemed to be the right thing to do, but now he was wondering if he should have consulted Remus and Harry first, after all, it had always been just the three of them.

As the Hogwarts Express began to pull into the station Sirius' heart jumped to his throat and he scanned the crowd of excited students, laden with Christmas presents from their friends, in an attempt to find Harry. Gradually the crowd thinned but, to Sirius' great confusion, his godson still hadn't emerged. Mary approached him and wound an arm around his waist.

"Probably saying goodbye to his friends." Sirius nodded.

"Probably."

"Or maybe a girlfriend, he'd be too embarrassed to let you see."

"He's only eleven." Sirius mumbled, he was feeling increasingly agitated and Mary's close proximity did nothing to make him feel better.

"You're not worried, are you?"

"Worried?"

"About introducing me."

"No." He lied, scanning the doors of the train one by one. Eventually a thud signified the dropping of a trunk and a _bloody hell_ let Sirius know that Ron had exited the train. Second later Harry appeared behind his friend, along with Neville Longbottom and a bushy haired girl Sirius had never seen before.

"Harry!" He found himself grinning at the sight of his godson. Mary let out a breath.

"He's the image of James…."

"Lily's eyes, though." Sirius said, a smiling on his face as he pulled away from her to approach Harry, who was staring at him with a look of confusion across his face.

"Who's she?"

"Hello mate."

"Who's she?" Harry repeated.

"Harry. Hello."

"Who _is_ she?" Sirius sighed; Harry was going to persist with this one.

"I… well, she's my…my…"

"Girlfriend?" Supplied the bushy haired girl. Ron shot her a venomous look, Neville chewed his lip nervously. Harry shook his head, his eyes wide with horror behind his glasses.

"No. Can't be. You don't have a girlfriend. You can't have a girlfriend. You're… you're… _Sirius_."

"Do you have a girlfriend, Harry?" Sirius asked, a smirking playing on his lips as his eyes flicked towards Hermione. He was eager to change the subject. Harry turned scarlet from head to toe whilst Ron and Neville dissolved into fits of laughter.

"No! Don't be disgusting!" Harry looked positively revolted and Hermione, for her credit, didn't look too offended at Harry's exclamation. Sirius lay a hand upon his godson's shoulder, trying to remember what it was like to be eleven. He himself hadn't been interested in girls until third year, until then he, along with Remus and Peter, saw girls as nothing other than a target for practical jokes, and James agreed with them. Except when it came to Lily Evans. It had driven them mad for years, at first James hadn't fancied her, he'd just thought she wasn't practical joke worthy, or so he had said. By fourth year he was in love with her. Unfortunately, by fourth year his head had swelled to the size of a quidditch hoop and Lily saw him as nothing more than an infuriating toe rag. Something which she made sure to remind him on a regular basis.

But at eleven girls just weren't interesting, at eleven girls were for copying homework off and for reminding you to comb your hair once every now and then. Sirius wasn't sure if girls were even _people_ when you were eleven.

"Come on then, say goodbye to your friends, not girlfriend, we'd better get back."

"But who's that woman?"

"She's… my… well, I actually do have a girlfriend, Harry." There was something resembling betrayal in Harry's eyes and he said a quick, almost bitter goodbye to his friends, refusing to make eye contact with Hermione. He dragged his trunk towards the platform barrier, point blank ignoring Mary's presence as he passed her. Sirius sighed, said goodbye to Ron and Neville, and followed him. "Harry, wait-"

"What?" Came the gruff reply.

"Don't stalk off… I want to talk to you."

"I want to go home." Sirius opened his mouth to respond but as he did so Mary appeared at his elbow. He smiled at her and allowed her to take his hand as they made their way out of the train station, to a nearby apparition point in a disused underground car park.

They had been at the house almost three hours before Harry emerged from his bedroom where he had disappeared to as soon as Sirius had opened the front door. He joined Sirius and Mary in the living room, throwing himself onto the sofa sulkily. He looked at his godfather. "You got a girlfriend."

"I did." Sirius said slowly. "Is that okay?" Harry shrugged and Sirius swallowed hard, wishing Remus would hurry up and come home.

"Hello Harry." Mary said, offering him a bright smile which he only half returned. "I'm Mary."

"M'Harry, but y'know that." Harry stared at his trainers.

"I knew your parents. I was at school with them."

"You go out with Sirius at school?"

"No… no." She threw Sirius a look, poking her tongue out childishly. "Sirius didn't even know I was alive." Harry shrugged again.

"You're a girl." He offered by way of explanation. Sirius couldn't help but laugh.

"You've got a girl friend."

"She's not my girlfriend!"

"I know. I said girl friend, friend that is a girl."

"Doesn't count. It's Hermione." Mary was now laughing too, Harry was scowling bitterly and showing signs that he was planning to strop off upstairs again.

"Harry?" Sirius' voice was softer than Harry had ever heard it.

"Mm?"

"Mary's going to stay with us for Christmas, is that okay?"

"Why don't you just move her in?!" The eleven year old made to storm out of the room.

"Harry-"

"Leave me alone." Just as Harry opened the door to leave a Remus Lupin shaped figure stepped out of the fire. He looked as though he was about to speak until he noticed the tension in the room.

"What's going on-"

"Sirius wants to ruin my _life_!" Remus sighed as the door bounced off its hinges in reaction to the force Harry slammed it with.

"Well, I think that's your official initiation into fatherhood, Padfoot. What have you done? He can't have been back four hours yet..."

After a brief explanation from Sirius, with the occasional comment from Mary and a lot of sighing and head shaking from Remus there was a knock on Harry's door.

"Go away. I _hate_ you!"

"What have I done?" Remus asked, sticking his head into the room.

"Oh… you're not Sirius."

"No, I'm pretty sure I'm Remus."

"Uncle Moony." Remus nodded, smiling. "Can come in if you want." Remus did, but he chose not to speak, perching himself on the end of Harry's bed and wondering just where to begin. Remus had never had to face the issue of step parents, his own parents had been married for five years before he was born and were still together when his father died almost twenty five years later. Sirius' handling of the situation had left a lot to be desired but what had been done couldn't be changed; now they would just have tread carefully.

"What's wrong?" Harry rolled his eyes.

"Her."

"Mary?"

"Yes, _her_."

"She's quite nice really, from what I can remember. We were at school together; she was good friends with your mum."

"Yeah, good friends with my mum, but she's not my mum." Harry trailed a foot long the wall miserably. "Don't want a step mum." Remus rubbed Harry's shoulder gently.

"Harry, Sirius likes Mary but he's not forcing you to accept her as a step mum or anything else… he just… well, look at it this way. If you were at home on your own for nine months a year wouldn't you get lonely?"

"Mm…maybe."

"So, Sirius needs company."

"Could get a job." Remus laughed.

"Sirius? Really? He gets bored after an hour." Harry let out a weak laugh and leant against Remus, hiding his wet eyes.

"Does she have to stay for Christmas?"

"I don't think she has anywhere else to go, Harry."

"But I missed Sirius and I…."

"And you don't want to share him?" Harry nodded and hid his face behind his hand. "Perhaps the two of you can have some days out, without me and Mary. You need to do your Christmas shopping anyway, Sirius can take you can you can try to keep him out of trouble."

**A/N: I know that's not my best chapter, but I tried. And it might seem a little lacking in plot but the fic is essentially about Sirius raising Harry so I didn't want it all just be about what's happening at Hogwarts.**


	42. War At Home

**A/N: I'm sorry for the delay, thanks for reading & reviewing everyone.**

**Just one thing to say really: Can I ask that people don't complain about the length? It's usually the same people who complain that my parts are too short that complain if I don't update often enough and it's difficult to update frequently without being expected to write 5000 word chapters every time, I mean, I do have a life, I've got uni and stuff so this can't be my number on priority. So… **_**please**_** don't complain about the length, I know it's short, I know they always are, but I am trying…**

Remus descended the stairs half an hour after he had gone up them, Harry had opted to stay in his room until teatime and Remus had agreed that it would be fine, after all, he needed time to think. Pushing open the door to the living room he rolled his eyes at the sight of Sirius and Mary engaged in a non-verbal conversation and coughed loudly, laughing as they sprung apart. He rested his head against the doorway and shook his head, though his eyes smiled, it had been a long time since he had seen Sirius happy. Harry had raised smiles and Sirius hadn't been miserable, but there was always something behind his eyes that made Remus wonder if he could ever be truly happy without James in his life.

"I could've been Harry, you know." He said softly as Sirius glanced up from the sofa, a pink tinge in his cheeks.

"Nah, feet are too heavy, Harry's quieter unless he's jumping them." Remus nodded and placed himself on the other sofa, regarding Mary with a soft smile and trying to decide how best to tackle the Christmas issue. He sighed softly.

"Mary, perhaps you and I should do some catching up sometime, I haven't seen you since before Harry was born."

"Not trying to steal my girl are you, Moony?"

"No, I was just thinking that it would be nice to… y'know… catch up."

"Moony hasn't had a girlfriend in fourteen years." Sirius said, his tone almost sing-song.

"Thirteen, actually, and I've been far too busy."

"You teach don't you, Remus?" He nodded and Sirius quickly informed her that Dumbledore had decided Sirius was far too handsome to teach teenage girls, who would obviously faint at the sight of him and never learn anything. The old codger, he said, had to pick Remus instead, save the poor girls' beating hearts. Remus rolled his eyes and wondered, not for the first time, if Sirius would ever grow up. As the catching up idea didn't seem to be working Remus decided to employ another tact.

"Can you cook?" He asked Mary, employing his most encouraging teacher-style smile.

"I'm not bad, I can get by."

"Would you like to help with Christmas dinner seeing as you'll be joining us? Sirius never bothers and it would be nice to have a hand. We could go get the shopping tomorrow." Sirius scowled as Mary agreed.

"What are you up to Remus, why're you trying to drag Mary off somewhere? Looking for another kiss under the mistletoe, are you?"

"Honestly Sirius, we were sixteen-"

"Been a long time since someone kissed you though, hasn't it? Jealous, are we?" Remus sighed.

"No, Sirius, I just… well, I wanted to give-" Just as Remus began, against his better instincts, to tell Sirius how much Harry was missing him and just how jealous his godson was feeling, Harry himself burst in, glaring daggers first at Mary and then at Sirius.

"Why do you want to ruin everything?"

"What? I don't want to ruin anything, Harry; Remus and I were just-"

"You want to replace me and Uncle Moony! That's why you're being so _horrible_ to him for not having a girlfriend when he's busy being the _best_ teacher in the world and why you want to give me a stupid step mum so that you don't have to pay any attention to me anymore! You don't care if we missed you, you didn't even repaint Uncle Moony's bedroom like you said you were going to and I bet you forgot to buy us Christmas presents because you were too busy with _her_ and I don't want to stay here if she is, I want to go back to school!" Sirius tried to interrupt several times during Harry's outburst but didn't receive the opportunity. Now, as Harry stood before him, tears pouring from his bright green eyes and his chest rising and falling with his irregular breathing as he tried to catch up with himself, he couldn't find the words. He stepped towards Harry, wanting to take him in his arms like the lost, scared five year old he had sheltered from nightmares when they moved into this house.

Harry hiccoughed slightly as he backed away, still shaking, with his salty tears drying on his pale cheeks, hurt and misunderstanding filling his face. Remus, who was hiding his own anger with an ease he had mastered at a young age, stepped between Sirius and his godson, shaking his head at his friend and letting Harry leave the room, his footsteps thundering up the stairs, the last of his anger melting away with each bitter footstep.

It was going to be a long Christmas holiday, Remus reflected to himself as Sirius sent a death glare in his direction and slumped down next to Mary, who rose to her feet apologetically.

"I should go, I can spend Christmas with friends…"

"No! If Remus doesn't want you here he can shove off, Harry'll get over it, eleven year olds throw tantrums, I always did."

"I don't think he will, Padfoot, he's missed you so much, he's scared… he's just a little boy, eleven's not that old and you're his world." Sighing, Remus turned his attention to Mary. "You don't have to leave, you've done nothing wrong, it's Sirius that's got apologies to make, not you."

He left the room at that point, moving to his own bedroom and leaving Sirius to battle with his conscience. There would be little point continuing to argue with him once he'd worked out he actually was in the wrong and Remus was sure he'd do the right thing in the end, he had a good heart he just often couldn't see past what was in front of his face.

It was sometime later when Sirius, uninvited, shuffled into Harry's room trying to look apologetic. Mary had left, but would be returning on Christmas Eve providing Harry came round to the idea, and Sirius had spent half an hour thinking about things from Harry's point of view. He had rescued a Quidditch book from the box of Christmas presents he was waiting for Remus to wrap and was prepared to give it to Harry as a peace offering. Harry, however, did nothing more than scowl.

"Harry."

Silence.

"Harry?" Sirius waited a full minute before opening his mouth again. "I'll just leave this book here then. In case you want to read it. And if you feel like talking to me later I'll be in the living room polishing up the gobstones set." He slowly crept from the room and Harry waited until the door clicked into place before he lifted the book Sirius had placed on the edge of the bed.

An hour later he walked into the living room and, without a word, sat opposite Sirius, on the other side of the gobstones and proceeded to beat his godfather with ease.

**A/N: Thanks for reading that! Sorry it's not really very happy and not very good either, but I'm just getting more & more frustrated with it to be honest.**

**I know I should have done this months ago, but I think it was largely a pride thing that I didn't (mock away), but can someone point me in the direction of a good beta? Thanks!**


	43. Breakfast With Harry Again

**A/N: Thanks to **_**everyone**_** who read & reviewed the last chapter, very much appreciated as always.**

**Sorry for the delay (again). I am useless, you may shoot me or poke me with sticks. (Gently please.)**

**& thanks to my new beta, Britt, who I shall possibly have to worship for preventing this from being a grammatical disaster.**

When Harry hauled himself out of bed the next morning it was to the sound of laughter floating up the stairs and it reminded him just why he loved living with his godfather and Uncle Moony. After tugging his dressing gown and slippers on he thudded down the stairs, following the laughter until he found his guardians in the kitchen, fighting over the Daily Prophet.

"Oh, hello Harry." Uncle Moony smiled as he looked up from their tussle. Sirius took the opportunity to wrench the paper away from Remus' hands, whacking him quickly on the back of the head and settling down to read the back page on the far side of the room.

"You two should just get a paper each." Harry said, sliding into his seat and stealing a slice of toast from Remus' plate.

"No, we should just make it a rule that I get to read it first." Sirius grinned, throwing an apple in Harry's direction. With his quidditch reflexes Harry reached out to catch it without lifting his eyes from his breakfast. It was quiet and calm and not really all that eventful as far as family breakfasts go; it was certainly a contrast to what he had become used to at Hogwarts but somehow it was perfect. He hadn't realised how much he'd missed this until he was here, it was quite nice having his guardians to himself again, sitting at the same table as Uncle Moony instead of on opposite sides of the room and dodging Sirius' morning missiles. Eventually Sirius tossed the paper to Remus, who looked marginally disgruntled as it landed in his sugar loaded porridge, before moving to sit beside Harry.

"Right mate, eat up, Diagon Alley today." Harry scowled. "If we go today you can buy that girlfriend of yours a present and send it in time for Christmas."

"She's not my girlfriend, why would I want to go out with her?"

"Seemed like a very nice girl to me."

"But I'd have to _touch_ her and _kiss_ her and… and… you know… _hold hands_." Remus and Sirius instantly began to roar with laughter and Sirius ruffled his godson's hair.

"That's kind of the point, Harry."

"You have a girlfriend so that you can hold hands with her?" Harry raised an eyebrow in disbelief, shaking his head and returning to his toast, unaware that Sirius' had turned a pale shade of scarlet. Remus sniggered behind his hands. "Where is she anyway?"

"Gone to visit friends, won't be back until Christmas Eve."

"Oh." Harry looked up, a grin forming on his face. "Brilliant. So we can do fun stuff then? Like a Gobstones tournament and putting up the tree and playing quidditch in the drawing room?"

"Harry, you've never been allowed to play quidditch in the drawing room." Remus put in. Sirius shot Harry a look, pleading for silence.

"Yeah, but there was that time when you were out and me and Sirius were playing with Dad's quaffle and we broke the-" Harry suddenly caught on to just what Sirius' wild gesturing meant and stopped abruptly. "No, you're right; I've never been allowed to play quidditch in the drawing room." Remus opened his mouth to speak and Sirius looked half relieved, half petrified. "Anyway, I'd better go get dressed if we're going Christmas shopping. Are you coming Uncle Moony? Good. See you in ten minutes." And with that, he was gone, in a whirlwind of speed that reminded Sirius of the five year old ball of energy that broke everything he came in contact with and worshipped the ground his godfather walked on.

"Knut for 'em, Padfoot?"

"Eh?"

"What you thinking?"

"Just wondering how Harry turned eleven without me noticing, last I remember he was five and he was exploding crackers at Christmas."

"He was five _and a half_, don't forget." A nostalgic smile crept across Remus' own face. "Are Andromeda and Nymphadora coming for Boxing Day?"

"Probably. Why, keen to see Dora?"

"No, I was just wondering how much food I should get in, Mary will still be here then I take it?" Sirius shrugged.

"No idea, mate, depends how Harry goes with her… I don't want to upset him. And if he doesn't take to her I don't think Andromeda and Dora will, I don't want a family riot on my hands, haven't had to put up with one of those since I was sixteen." It was Sirius' turn to look nostalgic as he fought to hide a grin.

"What?"

"I was just remembering those posters..."

"Good job you're not still sleeping in that room, Mary would have an absolute fit."

"She wouldn't have seen them, anyway, we haven't-"

"I'm ready!" Harry announced as he reached the last stair before disappearing straight into the living room, Sirius shook his head.

"One day he'll have pictures of half naked muggle girls on his wall. Wonder what Lily would have said to that, eh?" Remus threw Sirius' cloak at him as he stood.

"She would probably have told him to take them down and James would have said something about it being disrespectful and then let Harry put them back up whilst Lily wasn't looking."

"She wasn't a bad sort though, Lily. And Prongs, he was a good chap. They'd have been great parents."

"And you're doing a brilliant job too, Sirius. Arguments about semi-naked muggle women or not."

"I bought him a Puddlemere United poster, I think he'll appreciate that more. For a few more years, anyway." Remus nodded and, following Harry's impatient calls, Sirius made his way into the living room and braced himself for the horror that was flooing with Harry Potter.

The journey hadn't been all that bad, in all honesty, although he still couldn't wait until Harry received his apparition license and they didn't have to go through this. Still, it could have been much worse and once they had dusted the soot from their cloaks they entered Diagon Alley which, at this time of year, was at its busiest.

"Quick march, Harry. Where to first?"

"Honeyduke's. I want to get Uncle Moony a bar of chocolate, and then maybe to Flourish and Blott's because I can't just get him chocolate and Hermione likes books too. Then to Quality Quidditch, I thought I might get Ron a Cannons poster or a quaffle-"

"Cannons? The Chudley Cannons?"

"He's a good friend but he has no taste in quidditch." Harry said mournfully.

"Alright. Anywhere else?"

"I thought I might get Neville something to keep his toad in. He keeps losing it. Oh, and can we go to Gambol and Japes, _please_? Ron's brothers have talked about nothing else all term and it sounds absolutely brilliant, please?"

"Well, I've never turned down a trip to Gambol and Japes yet… and I suppose it'll be good to channel your inner marauder before you go soft."

Harry and Sirius continued their journey around Diagon Alley, moving between shops with all speed necessary for tackling pre-Christmas crowds and were done by late afternoon. Neither one of them had mentioned Mary since breakfast and, Harry thought, as long as it stayed that way everyone would be happy. Sirius ducked out of Quality Quidditch Supplies whilst Harry was engrossed in the latest Puddlemere kit to buy her a present and had decided he would tackle the issue at a more appropriate time. Like never. Or, the more likely choice, sometime before Christmas Eve after Moony bullied him into behaving like a man and not a twelve year old schoolboy.

**A/N: I don't think there is a branch of Honeydukes in Diagon Alley but I can't recall the mention of any other sweet shop so I shamelessly used my artistic licence, great apologies to JKR and any fans who I have possibly offended.**

**It was another character-rather-than-plot driven chapter but hey, it's Christmas, so let's all be merry! Plot shall return, along with sanity, sometime within the next two or three chapters. Possibly sooner.**

**Reviewers can go Christmas shopping with the boys, if they are inclined to do so.**

**And on that note I shall go plot a way to kill my flatmates and get away with it…**

**I'm kidding, honestly. I do not have homicidal tendencies. **


	44. Almost An Ode to Breakfast Antics

A/N: I'm a bad person

**A/N: I'm a bad person. I blame Torchwood for it has taken over my life. I fell out of the fandom and into the Torchwood one. It's quite a happy place but I'm still climbing back into the Potterverse. **

**So I'm really sorry for the delay on this, especially as I'm on Easter holidays and should have managed this over a week ago. But it's here now all the same.**

**It's un-beta-ed (is that even a word?) because I felt so bad about the delay, once it's been beta-ed I'll put up the edited version though!**

Sirius did opt in the end to put off talking to Harry until the last possible opportunity. The morning before Christmas Eve he slid down the stairs to be met by Remus throwing a letter from Mary in his general direction and insisting that he fed the bird that had delivered it because it had already tried to bite Remus four times in the past hour.

Twenty minutes later, with the owl fed and cuts on only three of Sirius' fingers he finally sat down to read the letter and sighed, running a hand through his hair at the realisation that he couldn't put off the father/son, well godfather/godson, chat he had to have with Harry. Remus raised an eyebrow at the expression on Sirius' face.

"Problem?"

"Not really."

"She dumped you?"

"Oh don't look so gleeful, why do the failings of my love life always amuse you so? You've wounded me." As Remus took cover behind a chair, preparing for the onslaught of blunt objects Sirius was bound to start throwing in his direction, Harry slipped into the room. His hair was wilder than usual and his glasses a little crooked. He looked half asleep as he slid into a chair and looked up, a little wide eyed, at his guardians, a sleepy smile playing on his lips.

"What he do to wound you? Hope it's not too serious, the St Mungo's healers might try to cancel Christmas again."

"Oh would you let that go. You were seven. That was four whole years ago." Sirius sighed and pulled a face as Remus stuck his head out from behind the chair and decided to make a break for the door. He was inches away from his exit when a bread roll caught him in the back of the head, followed by a cheerful exclamation from Sirius and a spate of boyish giggles from Harry.

"I am leaving." Remus announced as he hurried out the door. "I'm going to buy food, as Sirius is intent on destroying everything we currently have."

"Revenge, my dear Moony! Revenge!" Sirius half-cackled whilst Harry spread butter and jam onto his toast and regarded him with bemusement, shaking his head in a parental fashion. "What, Potter?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all Mr Black."

"Oo, Mr Black is it?"

"Certainly." He paused, tilting his head to one side and licking jam off his finger. "Sirius… did anyone ever tell you it's wrong to write in library books?"

"Of course. Madam Pince told me so frequently."

"And my dad. He wrote in one to tell you not to write in it." Sirius laughed, the ghost of a memory flicking across his face.

"Ah, yeah, I remember that… why were you looking in books about maps?"

"Oh!" Harry exclaimed as though he had suddenly remembered his intention to ask Sirius about Pettigrew. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about! The map!"

"The map?"

"Yeah, it went all weird a while ago. It was showing someone on it that wasn't in the room. And we couldn't work out why."

"Hmm, didn't you ask Uncle Moony?"

"We tried, but we couldn't get him alone long enough and we couldn't say in front of the teachers, in case they confiscated it." Sirius nodded.

"Of course." He chewed on his own toast, which was now slightly cold and not all that appetising. "That's a bit odd. It used to do that when we first made it. Bit of an overlap. But I'm sure we'd gotten all the kinks out of it. Who was it? Someone you know?"

"No, just some boy."

"It's quite old, could be the magic wearing off. I'll take a look at it if you like, or you could get Uncle Moony too. Your dad did most of the charms but it's probably just being temperamental. I think it's got a mind of its own, and if it does it's a mixture of me and your dad, which is quite a fatal combination by all accounts." Harry nodded, feeling satisfied, and returned to his breakfast whilst Sirius dithered about clearing plates, washing dishes with more ferocity than they needed, doing everything by hand so that it would take longer than necessary. If Harry noticed he didn't comment and was still munching away when Sirius dropped into the chair opposite him.

"Harry."

"Yeah?"

"I need to talk to you about something…" Harry glanced up at his godfather apprehensively.

"Whatever it is I didn't mean to do it." He exclaimed hurriedly.

"It's nothing you've done. It's something I need for you to do."

"What?"

"I need… I need for you to answer a question and please don't be silly." Harry pulled a face.

"Okay."

"Right. Well… would it be okay with you if Mary still came for Christmas?" Harry paused for a moment, regarding Sirius whilst he considered his answer. If he said yes he might hardly see Sirius over the next few days. Christmas wouldn't be the same with someone else there, she might make him get dressed before he opened his presents and stop him making Christmas cracker towers. She might not want to have Gobstones tournaments and she might send him to bed early. But if he said no then Sirius would be sulky and they wouldn't have their Gobstones tournament anyway. And Uncle Moony would give him the disapproving look that meant _I'm very disappointed in you_ and that he only used when Harry did something selfish or said something horrid. Then everyone would be miserable and he'd have to go to bed early because they'd be angry with him so he wouldn't even get to make his Christmas cracker tower. There might not even be any Christmas crackers at all. "…Harry?"

"Are Dora and Andromeda coming on Boxing Day?"

"Yes."

"Can I still stay up late?"

"Yes."

"And you won't cancel the Gobstones tournament. No matter what she says?"

"I won't."

"And I don't have to talk to her if I don't want to?"

"Harry-"

"_Sirius_."

"Alright. But please try and be nice to her." Harry gave a non-committal shrug and rose from the table, leaving to get dressed without a word. Sirius sighed and with a flick of his wand Harry's plate was in the sink. As he scrawled a reply telling Mary she was welcome to come by tomorrow he thought about Mary's place in his life, in Harry's life. He wasn't sure this was serious, he wasn't sure either of them wanted it to be. Harry was his number one priority, but it was nice to have someone around while everyone else was at Hogwarts, very nice indeed.

All in all, he reflected, it had been a pretty good year. Harry was doing well at Hogwarts, he was happy and he had friends. Remus still had his job and was extremely popular and Sirius was doing okay. Getting by. They were doing right by Harry, they were doing things the best way they knew how, muddling through it just like Lily and James would have done. Perhaps with a little less flare than James and lot less sensibility

than Lily, but they weren't doing half bad, he supposed.

And, if Harry warmed to Mary, she would be able to tell him stories about Lily that he had never heard before. The Marauders had always been aware that the girls got up to much more mischief than they let on, Lily included. He sometimes thought they could have given the boys a run for their money, but then he remembered James' originality and Remus' methodology. He thought about his own fearless nature and the way they were always one step ahead. He didn't let himself think about Peter's cunning or the plans he had helped concoct. If he didn't, then the memories were untainted and life was sweet.

**A/N: Comments breathe life into me.**


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